To Those of Wolves' Eyes
by The Storyteller of Dreams
Summary: AU. In which Kakashi adopts Team 7, gradually. Or: A mission led to a wolf demon being stuck inside seventeen years-old Kakashi. Somehow, that prompts him to actually getting a life, taking care of Naruto, adopt Sakura and be Sasuke's support. Obviously, things change. -I do not own the pic-
1. A Meeting of Wolves

**Title: **_**To Those of Wolves' Eyes**_

**Summary: **_**Kakashi should have known better than to take on strings of A to S –rank missions on his own. But he's tired, and perhaps he'll find that one mission that'll kill him today. Except, that's not what happens. Instead, an annoying wolf demon gets stuck in him, which somehow leads to him taking care of one hyperactive blond, adopt a certain pinkette and walks to the Uchiha District nearly everyday for their playdates with Mikoto's son. AU. A Kakashi adopts Team 7 fic.**_

**Genre: Adventure, Humour, Drama**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even male! Nor do I own Shonen Jump and Kishimoto's work.**

**Inspiration: **_**Blind Stars of Fortune **_**by 100demons and **_**Team 7: Retelling **_**by Tellemicus Sundance (Except this fic **_**isn't **_**a time-travelling story)**

**(Actually, maybe it's more like those fic inspired me to write something about Kakashi and Team 7. Obviously, the premises are **_**very **_**different.)**

**This is obviously AU and may or may not follow the Stations of Canon.**

**By the way, I am absolutely confused as to how **_**Naruto **_**characters address each other. Who calls who with **_**'chan' **_**or **_**'kun'**_**? I know that for the Kages they add the prefix **_**'sama' **_**and that also extends to Clan Leaders (right…?). But seriously, I'm kinda lost.**

**Chapter Summary: **_**Kakashi thinks his death will be ironic. Except, it's not really his end yet. Instead, he may have gotten a saving grace in the form of a demon. Only time will tell whether it's a good thing or not.**_

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-(X)-

Chapter 1: A Meeting of Wolves

-(X)-

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Kakashi supposed that it was ironic, really, that he would die like this.

He closed his eyes and silently listened to the steady drop of water leaking from somewhere in the cave. _Drip-drop._ Despite what will soon happened to him, he was rather calm. He forced himself to remain calm. There's no point in giving his enemies fear and such reactions; they would only laugh and enjoy his pain.

_Drip-drop._

Trapped he may be, Kakashi still has his dignity after all.

His hands and legs were bound to the stone platform, chains wrapped in seals not only preventing his body from moving but also him from releasing chakra. At least he could still move his head a bit. Tilting his head, he spotted his ANBU mask lying unceremoniously on the ground a few feet away from him. Great. _Drip-drop._ Well, he still used a mask underneath that one anyway, and his capturers were kind enough not, or perhaps didn't see the point, to unmask him completely.

That's good. He felt uncomfortable with his usual mask off anyways.

_Drip-drop._

The cave he was in was a bit dark, and Kakashi sighed internally. Why must they _always _do this in dark, damp places? Wasn't it rather cliché? Or perhaps it was another attempt to unnerve him. Make him act illogically and immediately rush back to Konoha when he would be given the chance…or perhaps it was to make him susceptible to the idea of killing himself sooner than later.

The place he found Rin was rather similar to this cave he was in. When he found his father, it was also in a dark place. He distinctly remembered the dripping sound of water at both locations. _Drip-drop. _Rin was kidnapped by Kiri-nins, his father killed himself in the kitchen. Water was expected to drip and drop there. Kakashi was sure he was still somewhere in the Land of Fire, where the weather was warm and bright, and wondered whether he imagined the dripping sounds or not.

_Drip-drop._

Perhaps it was both real and not. And that spoke wonders about his mental condition doesn't it? Kakashi really couldn't be bothered by it anymore.

_Drip-drop._

He wondered whether this was what Rin felt when she was kidnapped and forced to bear something she couldn't handle. He wondered whether this was what his father felt before he decided to slip a knife to his heart.

He wondered whether Obito would forgive him for not keeping his promise. He wondered how his teacher would react to him not being in his child's life at all, save for being his shadow when needed or to wire a part of his income to him.

_Drip-drop._

Kakashi hoped they would all forgive him for dying.

_Drip-drop._

He counted the drops. It was not as if there was anything for him to do, even if the drops were all most likely in his head. He had tried to escape, but the missing-nins holding him captive were good. The chains were tight and the seals were, while a rather sloppy in his opinion, did their work effectively. It was expected though, when the four ranged from A to S rank missing-nins. Nothing the seventeen years-old ANBU Captain hadn't handled before though. The problem was, however, that said seventeen years-old ANBU Captain never assassinated any high-ranking missing-nins after strings of solo A and S rank missions.

_Drip-drop._

Today would be October 7th.

Kakashi was _tired. _So very, very _tired._

Perhaps this mission would finally end him.

_Drip-drop._

The missing-nins approached him. Kakashi watched with his _(Obito's)_ Sharingan eye closed as they neared him. He would need to conserve his chakra if he wanted to kill them later. And he would too, for not only using _him _as a timed bomb against Konoha, but also for invoking memories better left to the dark corners of his self-tormenting mind. He would kill them all and then kill himself_ (though that brought up more memories of his father's suicide)_ and protect Konoha from the demon that would soon be trapped inside him.

One of the missing-nin pushed up his shirt, another started to draw seals on his stomach. The other two remained slightly behind them, and Kakashi couldn't peer through the darkness to see more than their silhouettes. Behind them was a cage of some sort. Kakashi wondered how they managed to capture a demon. Sure, it's not exactly a Bijuu, but a demon was still a powerful being.

_Drip-drop._

The brush would have tickled, but Kakashi ignored the sensation. He closed his eyes again and focused on his breathing. Calm. He must remain _calm. _He stretched his other senses out. Four distinct smells, four breathing, four chakra he sensed; all of them from the missing-nins that caught him. Good. They were all here. He wouldn't need to drag himself out to search for more of them then.

_Drip-drop._

His name probably wouldn't be carved into the Memorial Stone, fitting he supposed. ANBU gained no recognition for their work, they were the shadows of the village after all. Besides, unlike his teammates, he was never a hero like Obito, Rin and Minato was. There was nobody left to remember him, save for the Sandaime and, perhaps, his self-proclaimed 'Eternal Rival' Gai. Only they would worry and wonder where he had gone and died in.

Inside a cave surrounded by missing-nins who would shortly turn him into a jinchuriki, after he killed them, he would kill himself. He thought of his father who died via suicide, of Obito crushed under all those rocks, of Rin jumping and impaling herself on his arm, of his teacher sacrificing his life for his village. Kakashi could almost see the parallels to his situation right now.

_Drip-drop._

The world has a sense of humour after all, Kakashi decided sardonically.

_Drip-drop._

They brought the cage closer, but despite this Kakashi still closed his eyes. The demon felt different to his senses. Its breathing was soft, near silent, its scent was of earth and crops instead of blood that he imagined and his chakra…though it felt quite strange and not exactly human, it was nowhere near the Kyuubi's malevolence that fateful night. Strange.

_Drip-_

Then one of them forced chakra into the seal on his stomach.

_-drop._

Kakashi nearly _screamed._

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-(X)-

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"_You should take a break, Kakashi." _

_The use of his given name gave the ANBU a pause. Wolf tilted his head. "What do you mean, Sandaime-sama?"_

_The Hokage sighed, wisps of white smoke wreathing himself and forming spirals around his hat. "You know exactly what I mean, Kakashi."_

"_I have rested enough." More than enough, in his opinion. Then again, some ANBU members joked (as much as they could anyway) that his medical opinion on himself is an overestimation at best, an utter disregard at worst. And it was October now, nearing the anniversary of their deaths…_

"_Perhaps." The old Hokage conceded. Wise, tired eyes looking at him sadly. "But I still believe you need more rest."_

"_I am fine." He nearly grounded out. He was fine. Really. Though his left ankle was hurting slightly and he wasn't sure whether his right arm was completely healed yet, Kakashi was certain that he was ready for a mission._

_Sandaime sighed, too used to his stubbornness by far. He understood him too. It's October after all._

"_Very well." The older man handed him a folder with his next targets. He checked them all quickly, memorizing as much as he possibly could with a quick scan. When he was done, he handed it back to the Hokage, who took it and burnt it with a snap of his fingers and a burst of chakra._

_ANBU missions leave no trails left behind._

_He bowed to the Sandaime. The aged leader nodded, almost tiredly, almost sadly. He couldn't bear that look. It was not pity, but it was close enough, and it reminded him of his failures. For someone people called genius, all Kakashi could call himself was a failure. The ANBU Wolf bowed and disappeared in a burst of smoke._

_Inside the now empty Hokage office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and looked towards the Hokage Monument. His eyes landed on the fourth one. With a resigned sigh, he turned back to his desk and faced the mountains of paperwork left._

_He kneaded his temple with a hand. "I did not sign up for this."_

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-(X)-

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White. Everything around him was _pure white._

"_Not really, pup."_

Whirling in place, Kakashi searched for the source of the voice. He found no one, however. All that he could see was a desolate, empty whiteness.

"_Over here."_

The Hatake looked towards where he thought the voice originated, yet he was met again with white. Wait. No…Kakashi narrowed his visible eye _(and part of him wondered when did his hitai-ate was put in place, he knew he took it off before the mission)_. There was something off with the whiteness in front of him. Was it him, or does it looked a shade darker?

"_Bout time you spotted me, pup." _The darker shade of white said. Then it _moved _and with it, more colours seemed to fell into place. The creature's pelt turned from pure white to a shade of platinum, its eyes turning into inhumanly bright blue eyes. It was large, bigger than a horse. The wolf's eyes bore into his for a moment, before what seemed to be smirk formed at its muzzle.

"_So you're my vessel, eh?" _The wolf demon said, seemingly amused. _"I was expecting someone a bit more…bigger, I suppose."_

With a jolt, Kakashi realized that he was facing the demon sealed in him. He instinctively reached to his pouches for his kunais, ready to fight the demon if he wanted to take control of his body. He couldn't find them, however, and the demon laughed at his realization.

"_So eager to kill, pup." _The wolf chuckled, laying down almost lazily in front of him. Kakashi looked at him warily. The creature rolled its eyes. _"Geez, my first human contact in over a century and it got to be a rude whelp."_

"What about those missing-nins?" Kakashi asked, discreetly checking his other pockets and pouches for his other weapons.

"_They don't count." _It said with a huff, looking annoyed by the subject. _"They caught me off-guard. I was sleeping, just minding my business in a nice cave when all of a sudden-." _The wolf smacked its tail in front of him. Kakashi guessed that the gesture was its equivalent to humans slapping their hands together. _"BAM! Those annoying flies stuffed me into that cage. You humans can be so __**rude**__."_

This was clearly not what Kakashi expected when he met his demon. After finding out that he had no weapons at all _(except, all ninjas are weapons), _Kakashi stared at the bizarrely friendly wolf demon. It didn't seem that it wanted to eat him, though that may change later. It didn't seem too annoyed by the fact that it was apparently trapped inside a human. It even looked as if the whole thing was amusing to him.

Kakashi expected fire and anger, sheer evil and vile chakra that would force him to his knees. He expected sneers and taunts and threats to let go, to let the beast loose. He didn't expect _this._

"_What's with that look, pup?" _It questioned, tail swaying slightly behind it. It tilted its head. _"You looked as if the Kyuubi just went up and shower you with flowers."_

The mental image caused him to gape a bit. Luckily, it was covered by his mask. After a moment, Kakashi asked dubiously. "Are you _sure_ you're a demon?"

"_Now what kind of question is that?" _It exclaimed, annoyed but not enraged Kakashi noticed. That was…strange. Its ear flicked once, twice. _"Is the sky blue? Are the grasses green?" _It asked rhetorically, baring its fangs. _"OF COURSE I'm a demon, mutt!"_

Kakashi blinked. This was _certainly _not what he expected. "Then why aren't you threatening to kill me or eat me or something?"

The large wolf rolled its eyes. _"Tch, that's old, pup. You gotta be ancient to want to eat human meat. Besides, with humans you don't know where they've been!"_

Huh. So apparently, the demon in front of him didn't want to eat him. Kakashi felt slightly relieved at that. Considering the demon in front of him didn't seem malevolent, the human sat crosslegged in front of it. Kakashi looked up, considering a newfound idea, at it. Hmm…perhaps-yes. If it all goes well, then this mission wouldn't be his last after all.

"Do you know why the missing-nins captured you and I?" He asked.

"_Nope." _The demon shrugged nonchalantly. _"Don't really care either way."_

"Well…" He drawled, looking up at him. Was he really _that _lucky to get a demon that seemed rather neutral to humans? Or was it only the Bijuus that were living disasters? "The missing-nins are trying to get you to destroy my home."

"_Oh?" _It intoned, ears pricking up in interest. It was too early to say whether it would agree to his plans, but so far so good, Kakashi thought.

"Yes, they are using you and me to destroy Konoha." Memories of Rin's last days flashed in his mind. He pushed it back-_now's not the time. _But still-if only _she _was the one who got a seemingly neutral demon like this instead of him. If only _he _was the one who was caught instead…No-_focus, _he needed to focus on the _now. _"They sealed you in me, but the seals they place are sure to be sloppy at best. They want you to be released when I enter Konoha, and then they expect you to rage and destroy the village, like the Kyuubi once did." He swallowed inaudibly. "I need you to help me prevent that."

"_That's the idea, hmm?" _The wolf said, bright blue eyes shining attentively. It tilted its head, as if in deep thought, and Kakashi waited with bated breath to see whether or not the demon would help him or not. Finally, after several moments had passed, the wolf nodded. _"Alright. Lose your home. Lose your pack. And that's a terrible thing, I should know." _Those bright eyes dulled for a moment, before the wolf shook its head and grinned. _"I'm in. What's the plan, pup?"_

Kakashi mirrored the grin under his mask. "First, I'll need to kill them…"

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-(X)-

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When Kakashi opened his eyes, the cave was empty.

Or at least, it _seemed _empty. Closing his eyes, he stretched his other senses out. _There. _At the edges of his chakra senses, he could sense four people. The missing-nins. Kakashi grinned slightly under his mask.

He opened his eyes and flexed his muscles. Chains rattled and tinkled, he was still bound to the stone platform. He tilted his head and peered through the darkness of the cave. Seals were still wrapped around the chains. Kakashi bit back a groan. So he still couldn't use his jutsus then.

The missing-nins most likely thought that he had some friends or teammates that would get him out, and so they left the chains be. But as it just so happened, Kakashi took this mission solo. And as an ANBU operative, that meant that he would gain no backups of any sort from Konoha. Which meant that he had to figure out a way to get out of these chains on his own, without expending too much chakra, and still kill his targets.

_Damn._

Kakashi was starting to regret, a little though, on taking the mission alone.

"_Why don't you just force your way out?" _The voice of the demon in him said, curious.

"_I don't have enough chakra for something like that." _Kakashi thought back to it. _"I'll be too tired to fight by the end of it."_

"_Add mine then." _It said, voice reasonable though he was sure that it sensed Kakashi's shock. _"With my chakra, you should be able to burst out of here easily."_

"_Why would you give chakra so easily like that?" _He questioned, suspicious. It was in a ninja's nature to be wary of others.

The demon seemed shifty. In his mind's eye, he could see the wolf looking away, a hint of a frown on its muzzle. _"Well, you did say they're aiming to destroy your home. Which means you'll lose your pack. I can relate to that."_

"_Did you lost yours?" _Kakashi asked. It sounded strange coming from a demon.

But said demon closed up on him, growling slightly in irritation. _"Not your problem, pup. Just take it and go."_

"_Fine." _Kakashi let go of the topic. There was no need to irritate a demon that was working with him.

Foreign chakra slowly filled up his veins. It was strange, like mixing snow with dye and water, but it wasn't as painful as he thought. The demon was rather mindful to the limit of his chakra capacity and didn't give him more than he could take. With his and its chakra, Kakashi pulled at the chains on his left arm.

White chakra, mingling with silver, seemed to leaked out of his hand, wrapping around the chains and seals. Grunting, Kakashi tugged harder. The demon continued to steadily supplied chakra to him, something he was grateful for. With a small, muffled shout Kakashi _pulled _and finally, _finally _the seals burst and broke the chains. There was a slight bleeding on his wrist, but tendrils of silver chakra wrapped around the wound. When it dissipated, the wound was closed.

Kakashi took a deep breath, bringing his freed hand up to his face. He saw the wound heal, his and the demon's chakras fading away and coiling back into his body. He thought-whispered. _"Thanks."_

"_You're welcomed, pup." _The wolf piped up. _"Now it's time to get out of here."_

"_Yes." _The ANBU operative nodded. He ripped the seals off the chains on his other wrist, then used his chakra to strengthen his arm and ripped his hand out of the chain. He repeated the process with the other chains on his legs. When he was done, Kakashi swung his legs off the platform and stood up.

He picked up his discarded ANBU mask and put it on, then tugged the hood of his uniform up, covering his white hair. Feeling more secured by being covered, Kakashi glanced around the cave. He couldn't find his kunais and shurikens, the missing-nins had stripped him off his weapons after all. Well, that was a bit of a drawback. He could still use his jutsus, though, and if necessary he could steal some weapons off his enemies.

Good enough. He could make this work.

Quietly, Kakashi crept through the shadows. Outside, it was dark, the stars peeking out from the clouds. The moon hung high above in the sky, the only source of natural light for miles. He stayed inside the mouth of the cave for a while, surveying his surroundings. Once he was out, he would be on an open field where he could be target for the missing-nins. Then again, they _wanted _him to escape, so perhaps they would let him go free, only attacking him to herd him faster to Konoha.

Kakashi breathed out slowly under his masks. Well, he got an idea…

He crept silently back a bit, tucking his chakra into himself and hoping they wouldn't notice the difference in chakra levels later. Quickly, he made a Kage Bunshin and sent it out. Half of his chakra was gone already. The white-haired teen watched as the clone ran out of the cave and disappeared into the forest.

He waited for several long minutes, slowly growing anxious. Then, he could sense the four chakras moving away from the cave. They were following the clone. Good. Kakashi was free to hunt now.

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-(X)-

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The four missing-nins were fanned out several meters away from each other. They were close enough to sense the other, but not enough to actually see each other. Kakashi frowned slightly. That would present a problem, wouldn't it? Even if he kept his presence secret, the others would notice the loss of one of their teammates' chakra. They would be on alert for an attack then.

Still, they were following his clone. They shouldn't suspect him as their attacker. Instead, they would think that it was reinforcement from Konoha. As if. ANBU didn't receive backup, just as they didn't leave any trail of their presence at all.

They would suspect a group of ninjas attacking them. They would spread their focus and wouldn't expect a single person to be the one who was hunting them. He could use that to his advantage.

Silently, Kakashi leapt from tree to tree, keeping an eye on the ninja in front of him. Then, when his prey turned his back to him, Wolf opened his scarred eye and _struck._

A thousand chirping birds briefly rang out in the dark forest, blue light illuminating the two ninjas' surroundings. Blood poured from the gaping hole on the missing-nin's chest, his face set in shock and surprise. Kakashi pulled his arm back from the other's chest, watching dispassionately as the other fell to the forest floor. Without missing a beat, Wolf tucked his chakra back in and held it tightly, keeping his presence hidden from the rest, and jumped away from the scene.

He watched as one of the missing-nin approached his fallen teammate. From his perch up high above the ninja, Kakashi let a curl of chakra out, feeding it to his _(Obito's) _left eye and his hand. The mere hint of his presence was the only warning the missing-nin got before Wolf jumped down and pierced his chest.

There was two more, and they would be quickly approaching him. _Damn. _Kakashi eyed his chakra level. He had used up too much chakra in using the Sharingan, Chidori and Kage Bunshin. He was panting, though discreetly and quietly. No more ninjutsus then. Perhaps he could win a direct confrontation, but the chances were not in his favour. The best thing to do was to stick to the shadows and assassinate them discreetly.

He crouched down, surveying the two dead ninjas. The ANBU pilfered through their clothing, looking for kunais and shurikens and other weapons. In the end, Kakashi got a dozen shuriken and five kunais. Good enough. They must have relied on ninjutsu, genjutsu or taijutsu instead of weapons though if this was all that he got.

The white-haired teen tucked his chakra closed to him again, quickly hiding in the shadows of a large tree. The Land of Fire was Konoha's country. _His _country. He knew these forests like the back of his hand. They would not betray him.

While waiting, Kakashi thought on his opponents. Half of them were dead, and the other half was joining them soon. They would be even more cautious than before when they sensed their teammates chakras were gone. His eye looked at the two bodies he left behind at the forest floor. They were not weapon specialists, or else they would carry some kind of distinct weapon or be loaded with them. That means they were using chakra to attack and kill.

That meant they used jutsus. Prevent them from releasing chakra, stop them from completing their hand seals, and they could only rely on taijutsu and such attacks. Kakashi looked at the kunai he got and glanced back at the bodies. He could sense another ninja approaching. The ANBU leaned closer to the shadows, kunai raised and ready to fight. He would need to cut off the missing-nin's hands to prevent him from using jutsus.

The missing-nin approached his comrades' fallen bodies. There was a tense silence as the ninja looked at the bodies and checked his surroundings. Kakashi didn't dare to breathe. The ANBU had tucked his chakra inside him tightly, coiled it inside his body so the other ninja _(hopefully)_ wouldn'tdiscover him.

After several tense moments, the other turned his back to where Kakashi hid. The ANBU breathed out. It was the only warning the other ninja had before Wolf struck.

Kunai enveloped in white chakra clashed against another similar knife, the other wielder's face surprised. Kakashi took that momentary distraction to feed more of his chakra into his kunai and pushed it through, slicing the other's knife like butter. With a quick flick of his wrist, he cut off the other's hand.

His chakra level dropped, so he stopped strengthening his kunai. The white glow of the knife disappeared as he once again coiled his chakra inside. The ANBU leaned back, avoiding the horizontal swipe to his head the other ninja tried against him. He dropped to the ground on his hands and lashed out with his leg, sending a good solid kick to the other's chest. Then the teen flipped and threw several shurikens to his throat.

The other nin expertly deflected the throwing stars, even as he landed with a grunt on the forest floor. Kakashi quickly took stock of his arsenal. Now he was down to nine shurikens. Better make the most of them.

The missing-nin rushed forward to attack him, ignoring his bleeding hand. Kakashi blocked another swipe to his head with his kunai. The other lashed out with a kick, but Kakashi sidestepped it, pivoted around his opponent and stabbed him. The other roared in pain, but before Kakashi could finish his job, he turned and attempted to slash him, forcing the teen to abandon his kunai and leapt away from his enemy.

Now Kakashi was down to four kunais.

He took two kunais, holding them in front of him in preparation for another bout. The other nin was breathing raggedly, his stump of a hand profusely bleeding. He must be suffering from blood loss by now. Another thing to his advantage.

He eyed the other carefully, just as the other was no doubt eyeing him. His enemy was no longer capable of using his jutsus or fight with his both his hands. More than that, he was experiencing blood loss, which meant dizziness and would, eventually lead to death. Kakashi smiled grimly under his mask. It was a time game now, to see which one would come faster, the other ninja's companion or his death.

Kakashi preferred to hasten the latter.

Dashing towards him, Kakashi threw a shuriken to his left in a feint. It worked, the other nin avoiding it by moving to the right. Kakashi drew up close to him, striking him with his right kunai. The other man blocked it however, though the ANBU wasn't done yet. Quickly, the Konoha-nin thrust his left hand out, piercing his prey's chest with the other kunai.

Blood spurted out from the other's chest like scarlet petals, the man gasping before falling limp in front of him. The ANBU twisted the knife to his heart, then withdrew it and stepped back, letting the other nin fall unceremoniously to the ground.

Three dead. One left.

Kakashi casted his other senses out, searching for the last nin. At the edges of his senses, he could perceive the enemy's chakra moving away. Still following the clone, he thought, nodding. The teen flicked his kunai, most of the blood on it splattering away, and pocketed it. Then he jumped away, back to the trees, leaving the missing-nins bodies behind for him to collect later.

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-(X)-

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"_Why don't you use my chakra, pup?" _The wolf demon inside him asked curiously, watching through his eyes as Kakashi pursued the last missing-nin.

The white-haired teen blinked, not expecting the question. To be honest, he almost forgot about the demon's presence, too focused on his mission as he was. _"You're allowing me to?"_

"_Well I __**did **__offer. And it's not like this is the first time." _He could imagine an amused grin on the demon's muzzle. Somehow, it annoyed him. _"What do you think, pup?"_

"_Yes." _Kakashi answered. He wasn't expecting the demon to help him again, actually. But if the demon was offering to help, all the better.

Once again, foreign chakra flowed through his veins, filling his near depleted store of chakra. A surge of newfound energy waved through him, almost overpowering him for a second, and Kakashi tucked his chakra closer to him. He almost gave out his position. Once his store was filled again, Kakashi channelled some of them into his legs, leaping faster across the forest.

He was close now to his prey. Silently, the ANBU Wolf jumped to a higher branch, then followed the other nin from above. Below, a few feet away, he could spot his clone running through the forest. Looking down at his prey, the hooded teen formed a hand seal. _Kai._

The clone disappeared on command. The missing-nin stopped in confusion, looking down at where his clone once was. In the momentary confusion, the hunter opened his scarred eye, a thousand blue chirping birds gathered in his hand. Wolf leapt down and struck.

The man was dead before he knew what was coming.

Kakashi pulled out his hand from the gaping hole in the other's chest, pushing the ninja's limp form away. The missing-nin fell to the ground in a heap of crushed bones and broken limbs, but it wasn't as if he was alive to care about it anyway. Letting his hands fall limply on his sides, Kakashi drew a deep breath before releasing it in a soft, but large exhale.

Mission accomplished.

Except…not _quite _yet.

"_So, pup, you killed all the men that trapped me here." _The wolf demon's jibing voice said inside his mind. _"What's next?"_

"_Next." _Kakashi said back, sitting down and leaning against the trunk of the tree. He could sense no other ninjas near his vicinity. The ANBU closed his eyes and stepped back into the pure whiteness and the demon trapped inside him. _"I need to deal with you."_

.

-(X)-

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He was back into the pure whiteness again, though this time he could immediately spot the large, platinum-coloured wolf lounging close to him. There were no bars between the two of them. Then again, the sealing had been done sloppily, so he supposed that it was expected. A small part of him was embarrassed at having it on his skin in the first place.

Kakashi sat crosslegged in front of the demon. Looking up into its inhumanly bright blue eyes, the teen said. "This is where we'll say our goodbyes."

The wolf blinked. _"Just like that? So easily?"_

He shrugged at its confusion, nodding. "Yes. I'm not going to bring you into the village. I don't trust you enough for that. Besides, I don't need or want your power." He tilted his head. "Don't you want to be free?"

"_I-yes." _The demon admitted, confusion on its face. _"Didn't expect a human to give up power like this so easily though."_

"It's unreliable." Kakashi stated. "I don't have any brush or ink to perfect the seal on me. More than that, you're a power I don't trust and can get out of control and harm my village. So thank you, but no."

It looked at him in bemusement, before a grin stretched across its muzzle. _"Good reasons, I guess. Heh, you're blunt, pup, for a human."_

The teen shrugged. It was true. What could he say to that?

"I can probably release the seal from the outside." Kakashi informed him. "So wait until I finished unsealing you before you escape."

"_Won't it hurt you, pup?" _The wolf demon asked. If it was human, Kakashi imagined it to be raising its eyebrows.

"I got you for a few hours at best." The teen stated. "Your chakra hasn't intertwined with mine yet, at least not so much that I couldn't survive the release later."

"_You didn't deny it." _It noted, looking down at him curiously. _"Is this also for that village of yours? Konoha?"_

"Yes." Kakashi answered. He closed his eyes, preparing to step back into the real world.

But the demon wasn't finished with him yet. _"Wait, what's your name, pup?"_

"Why do you ask?" He questioned back. In the ninja world, one's identity was important and being able to keep it secret, to prevent others from knowing it and therefore one's strengths and weakness was imperative to most ninjas. He wouldn't give out his name to some stranger he just met, even if it was an oddly helpful demon.

"_Curiosity." _The demon answered simply, tail swaying slightly behind him.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Kakashi retorted, inciting a laugh from the wolf demon.

"_True." _It said, amused. Its tail now lay in front of them, right over its paws. _"Luckily, I'm a wolf, and as I noticed from your mask, you're one too, pup."_

Kakashi glared at him, or as much as he could with only one visible eye. The demon stared back, an amused air around it. Several moments passed, before Kakashi growled out. "…Fine."

The wolf visible perked up, mouth pulled back into a grin. _"Great! So, what is it?"_

"…Hatake Kakashi." He said, almost inaudibly. The wolf picked it up however.

"_Hatake!?" _It asked sharply, tail shooting up to resemble an exclamation mark. It looked down at him more attentively than before. Kakashi fought the urge to fidget under such stare. _"You're of the Hatake Clan!?"_

"Yes…" The white-haired teen replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked up at the demon in suspicion. "What's it to you?"

"_Several things, pup." _The platinum wolf said cryptically, inhuman blue eyes staring at Kakashi, assessing him. _"Your pack? Where are they?"_

Kakashi frowned under his mask. "Pack?"

"_What do you humans call it?" _Its tail swayed almost frantically behind it, voice near growling as he tried to remember the term. _"Friends? Family? Doesn't matter. Where's your __**pack**__?"_

Kakashi stiffened near imperceptibly. "I don't _have_ a pack."

The tail moved slower now. Blue eyes looked down at him almost in sadness…and empathy? _"Everyone has a pack, pup. What happened to yours?"_

His felt choked, his chest tightening until he wasn't sure he could breathe. _Why did it have to ask __**that**__ of all things?_ Kakashi swallowed heavily, glaring down at the white floor as he grounded out one word. "Dead."

Something soft settled on his shoulder. After a while, he realized it was the tip of the wolf's long tail. He snapped his eyes up, confused and shocked at the demon's empathetic look.

"_Sorry to hear that, pup." _It murmured sadly, bright eyes downcast. It placed its head on top of its paws, looking down mournfully. _"I know how that feels. Losing your pack. Damn awful."_

Kakashi stared up at the demon, stunned speechless by the demon's empathy. There were no words to describe what he thought at that moment.

"_Which is why…" _Suddenly, the wolf demon grinned, tail snapping upwards excitedly. _"I'm going with you!"_

"_What!?" _Kakashi almost shouted, but as he was a ninja accustomed to silence and stillness, it sounded more like a loud mutter. Underneath his mask, he was almost certain he was gaping.

"_Exactly as I said." _The wolf grinned down at him. _"I'm going with you to your village. Konoha, right? Heh, been a while since I went there…"_

"You want to go to Konoha? _Why?" _The masked teen asked, confused and growing slowly annoyed that the demon kept putting him off guard with his decidedly not-demonic attitude. "And you've been there?"

"_Story for another time, pup." _The wolf said easily, absentmindedly swiping his tail in front of him. Kakashi had to duck to avoid it. _"As for why. Well, you're a ninja aren't you? Figure it out yourself."_

"I don't trust you." Kakashi pointed out, frowning.

"_Gotta fix that, then." _It muttered softly. Its tail snapped forward above Kakashi's head, reaching for something that wasn't there-except it _got _something. Something appeared out of thin air, wrapped by its tail, so Kakashi couldn't see exactly what it was at first. When the tail was lowered, the Hatake could see that it held a scrap of paper.

The wolf handed the paper over to him for inspection. The ANBU narrowed his visible eye. It looked like it had been torn from a scroll, the edges slightly frayed and worn with age. The paper was empty though, blank and waiting to be filled. Kakashi looked up at the demon questioningly.

"_Do you know what a demon actually is?" _It asked instead.

"What does that have to do with this?" Kakashi asked back, holding up the scrap of paper.

The demon rolled its eyes. _"Everything. Listen, pup. Demons are summons that can't or won't return back to the Summoning World." _It sniffed the air in front of him. _"I can smell a contract on you. Canine. Dogs. Good choice, pup. Now, imagine that one of your summons stays in this world for a long time, never returning to the Summoning World. That's what a demon actually is."_

"And this is?" He waved the paper.

"_A contract with me." _The wolf explained. _"Besides what I just told you, demons usually aren't connected with their pack or clan or whatever-" _Its tail swayed a little faster behind it in punctuation. _"-the specific summon call it back in the Summoning World. If it's me, it's pack, and I'm not connected to the wolves from the Summoning World. So the contract there's only for me. You can't summon other wolves."_

"So I can summon you at any time I want you, but not other wolves." Kakashi said, considering the piece of paper in front of him. He never heard of demons being summons or that you could summon only one beast. Then again, what does he really knew about demons anyway? His only real experience with them, besides reading them from books, was with the Kyuubi no Kitsune. That was something he didn't want to remember.

So far, the wolf seemed sincere, but he didn't know _why _it would give something like this to him. Perhaps it was pity, because he learnt that Kakashi had no one, but that doesn't seem right. The wolf's eyes held understanding then. Maybe…maybe it was because he understood the pain of being alone and left behind? But understanding or not, it still didn't give him a solid reason why it would help _him _of all people.

That's the problem, Kakashi couldn't understand his motive. He was missing a piece of the whole reason and for that he couldn't completely trust the wolf demon. His single visible eye stared at the wolf. "And why should I trust you? You can use that chance to escape, to create chaos. So why _should_ I trust you?"

"_True, true, I could do that." _The wolf nodded, its tail finally simply laying down by its side this time. It grinned down at the white-haired teen. _"But I can ask the same question to __**you. **__I'm offering my power here to a __**human**__, and you guys have the bad tendency towards destruction."_

Kakashi remained silent at that, waiting for the wolf to finish.

"_Trust is a two way street, pup." _The wolf said. Its inhumanly bright eyes looked down at him, and suddenly Kakashi could see a glimpse of seriousness and sadness, regret that could rival-no, _beat _his. Those eyes looked ancient for a moment, weighed with unknown burden, and the teen could only bow his head at such a gaze. _"I'm willing to help you, Kakashi, though you may not want or think you need it." _It gazed down solemnly at him, nothing like its friendly, almost jovial nature before. _"Fact is I'm offering something to you. You can either take it or leave it, pup."_

"Why do you want to help?" Kakashi asked almost silently. "You're a demon. You don't have to do this."

Its eyes still held the weight of ages. _"Everyone has a past, pup." _It murmured softly. _"And there are monsters that haunt even the mightiest demons."_

Kakashi bowed his head, eyes closed. _That,_ he could understand.

"_So, pup?" _The demon said softly. _"What will it be?"_

"...Alright." Kakashi nodded, lifting his head up to look at the wolf. "I can use you to protect Konoha. That's good enough a reason."

"_Great!" _It cheered, its tail whooping upwards. Suddenly, the wolf demon was back to its cheerful state before, its previous solemnity washing away like dirt in the rain. Kakashi knew, however, that it was still there. It was surprisingly easy to hide your grief behind the mask of a fool.

The wolf grinned down at him, rows of sharp fangs leering down at him. _"Sign it up then! Come on, come on, come on!"_

The human stared at him. Right now, the wolf demon looked more like an overgrown puppy than a fearsome beast. "Are you _sure _you're a demon?" He asked dubiously once again.

Said demon rolled its eyes. _"Pup, we've been over this. YES, I'm a demon. Everyone bow down to my might and all that."_

"Alright…" The teen said hesitantly, a bit unsure about the demon's words. He certainly didn't act like a demon-at least not in his mind. Kakashi gazed down at the scroll, about to prick his finger with a kunai _(that suddenly appeared in his hand. How? Wait-it's __**his mind**__. Kakashi almost wanted to slap himself for missing the obvious) _when he suddenly realized something. The teen looked back at the demon. "Hey, what's your name?"

"_Hmm?" _The demon tilted his head, considering something. Its tail flicked up when it finally answered. _"Call me Arashi. It's not my real name, of course, but it'll do."_

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Why are you hiding your name?"

"_It doesn't help stimulate trust, I know." _The wolf shrugged, grinning as sheepishly as it could. _"But my name's rather…well, I don't want to say it. I don't want to remember some things."_

The teen frowned under his mask, but accepted the cryptic answer. Sighing, he looked down at the blank parchment before him. Well, it's all or nothing. Pricking his finger, Kakashi quickly wrote his name, sealing the deal. When he was done, the wolf used its _(__**his**__-he's Kakashi's summon now, and demon or not, he better give him some respect)_ tail to pick the piece of paper up. Nodding at what he saw, the wolf flicked his tail upwards, throwing the paper into the air. Watching him, Kakashi saw the paper disappear in a burst of smoke.

"_Alright! I'm your summon now, pup." _The canine grinned, showing more enthusiasm than Kakashi himself at the idea. _"Now, when you get out, can you summon me?" _He glanced around him, frowning slightly at the whiteness. _"Before that, can you do something with all this white? Geez, never know your mind can be so boring, pup."_

Kakashi bit back a groan, already feeling a headache coming up. Kami help him with this demon.

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-(X)-

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**Ok, and that's a wrap! **

**What do you guys think of the premise of this fic? Though I said it was two time-travel fics that inspired me to write this, the concept here is different than those two. The main catalyst for the deviances is this: **_**Kakashi gets stuck with a wolf demon, who got his own motives and reasons to push Kakashi into having an actual **__**life**__** for once. **_

**The **_**main thing **_**however, would come later, that is: **_**Kakashi adopts Team 7**_**. I haven't seen much fics where Kakashi adopts his team. Sure, there are some fics where Naruto or Sasuke or sometimes both becomes his kids, but I haven't seen many where all **_**three **_**of them are adopted. I hope my attempt wouldn't be so bad and would actually make sense.**

**I really don't know whether it's good or bad. This is my first Naruto fic, and I'm not sure I got Kakashi's character right. I mean, yes, there's probably a little angst when he compared his situation to the circumstances around his team's and father's deaths. At the same time, however, I also figured that he's strong, and Kakashi wouldn't angst so much to the point of self-pity. Ooh…I hope I got his characterisation right…**

**And what do you guys think of Arashi? It's not his real name, he's a bit uncomfortable in using it right now. Is his character interesting? And are his motives understandable? I tried to give him a reason to help Kakashi out, instead of using Plot no Jutsu and force an OC into helping him, like I sometimes see in fanfics. Seriously, while I admit strangers can be nice, not **_**everyone **_**would immediately rush out to help the protagonist with his life for no reason at all.**

**The Summoning Contract Kakashi sign only applies to Arashi. He can't summon other wolves, and I don't really want him too. It'll give him a bit **_**too **_**much power at the start. I hope the explanation why he couldn't is reasonable enough. **

**Next chapter will feature three years-old Naruto, and the start of **_**huge**_** ripple effect. **_**(though it may not be easily seen at first…maybe.)**_

**PLEASE REVIEW! ^ _ ^**

**The Storyteller of Dreams**

_**P.S. I NEED A BETA THAT'S GREAT WITH CHARACTERIZATIONS. PLEASE PM ME IF YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER.**_


	2. No More Lone Wolves

**Title: **_**To Those of Wolves' Eyes**_

**Summary: **_**Kakashi should have known better than to take on strings of A to S –rank missions on his own. But he's tired, and perhaps he'll find that one mission that'll kill him today. Except, that's not what happens. Instead, an annoying wolf demon gets stuck in him, which somehow leads to him taking care of one hyperactive blond, adopt a certain pinkette and walks to the Uchiha district nearly everyday for their playdates with Mikoto's son. AU. A Kakashi adopts Team 7 fic.**_

**Genre: Adventure, Humour, Drama**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even male! Nor do I own Shonen Jump and Kishimoto's work.**

**Inspiration: **_**Blind Stars of Fortune **_**by 100demons and **_**Team 7: Retelling **_**by Tellemicus Sundance (Except this fic **_**isn't **_**a time-travelling story)**

**(Actually, maybe it's more like those fic inspired me to write something about Kakashi and Team 7. Obviously, the premises are **_**very **_**different.)**

**This is obviously AU and may or may not follow the Stations of Canon.**

**Thanks for all your reviews! ^ _ ^ I'm really glad you like it so far! Here's more on Arashi and Kakashi!**

**Chapter Summary: **_**It's been a long time since Arashi stepped foot inside Konoha and he wants to explore the village. Kakashi reluctantly agrees. It's October 8**__**th**__** however, and at the end of the day, they meet a bloodied child with the scent of foxes…**_

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-(X)-

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Chapter 2: No More Lone Wolves

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True to his word, Kakashi had summoned him out after he left his mindscape, now a field of green and blue sky unlike the simple pure white it was before. Arashi was glad for that, though he still wished the pup had more creativity. Green fields and blue sky were kind of boring, though it was nowhere as dull as all the white before.

After that, the wolf chose to shrink himself to puppy size, much to his new host's amusement. Much to Kakashi's chagrin however, Arashi used that size as an excuse to sit on the teen's head as the ninja moved, tongue lolling out to the whipped wind to further annoy the white-haired ninja.

"Will you stop that?" The masked teen asked, irritation seeping into his tone. Arashi grinned from where he was on the other's head.

"Nope." The wolf said with relish, inwardly cackling. He could sense Kakashi's annoyance through the bond they now share. It made him chuckled quietly.

Really, the pup needed a bit more life into him. Yes, his pack was all dead, and it hurts, Arashi knew. It made waking up every day hard because you just _knew _they wouldn't be here to greet you in the morning. It made simple things unbearable because you remember them doing the same things, joking or squabbling over lunch or ribbing you into paying the bills and taking dares, and you realize that they could never do any of those stuff ever again. It made living impossible because really, how can you live without them?

It had been _years, _decades even, but Arashi could still remember the eccentric members that made up his pack. Ty Lee, whose grace and flexibility was unparalleled, jumping and leaping and turning bodies into pretzels even as she laughed and blabbed about auras. Satoru, always with that Cheshire grin and narrow eyes and plots to swindle everyone out of their money. Mamoru, stoic and large and as talkative as a rock, a mountain of a man yet he was so fond of creating those delicate wooden statues with rough hands befitting of a killer. And the list goes on and on and on. Aiko. Daisuke. Fumio. Chiasa. Haru…so many members he failed, so many died that shouldn't had.

_Mai._

Thinking about her caused his heart to ache. A thousand years may pass, but he would still mourn her death. Her dark eyes and hair, the fragrance of petals and steel and ashes _(for she was most definitely not girly, one of the many reasons he fell in love with her), _the silly competitions they had. He missed them. He missed _her._

He growled to himself silently as he realized where his thoughts were heading to. With his furry white tail, he slapped himself lightly on the head. _One. Two. _Baka, baka, _stop._ Mai was right he was such an idiot sometimes –_but how could he not when…_

_Stop. Enough. I've spent too long in regrets and guilt._

Taking a silent deep breath, so as to not let the pup know his inner turmoil, the wolf ignored further thoughts and instead relished the wind whipping past his fur, the sight of the dancing moonlight ahead and the fun he got from irritating the stoic pup. Arashi grinned down, wagging his tail, as he looked at his host's porcelain mask. "So, are we there yet?"

His reply was an annoyed. "Not _yet._" The teen further gritted out. "Stop asking! We'll get there _when we get there!"_

The wolf demon laughed at the exasperation in the other's tone. He could sense Kakashi's mounting anger, probably feeling that he had laughed _at him. _No -no, that wasn't the reason for his laughter. His laughter was a relieved one, a happy one for now he was certain that the young Hatake wasn't too far gone yet to completely lose life because he still has enough in him to snark at him. Those who were completely lost wouldn't _care._

And it was a dangerous thing, to no longer care for anything.

It was too late for Arashi, but he knew that it wasn't too late for Kakashi _(yet)._

The wolf would be damned if he let the same thing that happened to him occurred again.

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-(X)-

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Close to Konoha, the pup collapsed as excruciating pain shot up from his stomach. The masked teen stopped at a thick branch suddenly, doubling over himself and Arashi could almost hear the near silent scream as the pup fell to his knees and curled up in pain.

Arashi wasn't unaffected by this. He, too, could feel the seal breaking. The thing that kept them together shattered and the wolf demon nearly reeled back from the backlash of the seal's destruction. Instead, he gritted his teeth and used years of self-control to keep himself from going berserk, from turning into a giant and destroying the pup's home. When the initial wave of primal destructive instinct subsided, turning from the raging waves threatening to consume him into ripples in a slightly turbulent lake, Arashi hopped down from his seat on the pup's head and turned back to his regular large size.

"Are you ok, pup?" He murmured softly, tipping his head down and poked Kakashi's head with his snout.

"I-yeah. Yes. I'm fine." The teen managed to rasp out, though Arashi was sure that he was lying. The teen ninja was panting softly, arms around his stomach and knees to the ground, his body pitched forward. He wasn't a picture of perfect health.

"Yeah right." The wolf huffed slightly, laying down so he would be at eye-level with the pup. He offered. "Come on, ride on my back."

Though he wore a porcelain mask, Arashi was certain that the pup was giving him a dubious look. Suspicion practically rolled off him in waves. Arashi huffed quietly. _Paranoid whelp._

Still, Arashi couldn't help but approved of his wariness. Even though the wolf demon had offered him help many times over the night, they were still practically strangers. The pup was a ninja too, so it made sense that he was more than a bit paranoid. He was a good ninja, Arashi thought with a small hint of pride. The Hatake Clan always produced good ninjas.

"Don't give me that look." The stare intensified and Arashi swatted the back of the pup's head lightly with his tail. He grinned at the pup's glare. "Come on, it's not like I'm going to spirit you away into an abandoned amusement park where you'll either turn into pigs or forget your identity."

"That _so _doesn't help stimulate trust." Kakashi replied dryly, clutching his fur. The wolf demon simply chuckled as he leaned down and helped the teen on his back, his tail pushing and prodding him into position. Arashi felt a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, and the wolf couldn't help but think back on the last time his children hugged him around a century ago. It felt…strangely warm.

"You _do _know the way to Konoha, right?" Kakashi asked sceptically. Arashi scoffed at that, standing up.

"Of _course _I know where Konoha is!" The wolf exclaimed. It couldn't be _that _hard to find a large village in the middle of a forest. Besides, even though it had been _years _since he last set foot on Konoha, he was pretty certain of its location. You couldn't miss Hashirama's giant head after all.

Besides, he could smell the smoke and metal of the village from here, the distinctive scent of _Konoha _that he couldn't simply name. Of the leaves both old and new and burning, of the lazy deers stalking shadows and dogs partnered humans. Of the bugs in the human-hives, the ashes of those who bore red eyes, the near flowery fragrance of those with white eyes. Of the flowers that blossomed amidst the mind readers, the delicious scent of food of the big boned clan and the thousands of people all living and sleeping and working. Arashi grinned. He could smell _Konoha._

It was almost like coming back home.

The wolf leapt from branches to branches. At the first jump, Kakashi's arms around him tightened, revealing his nervousness. As Arashi continued to leap however, the arms grew looser, until the wolf was reasonably sure that the pup had grown relaxed enough for the ride.

"Hey, Arashi." The pup's near quiet voice broke the stillness of the night, his words nearly carried away by the whistling of the winds on their faces.

"Yeah?"

"Now that the seal has broken, what will happen?" He asked. "Will you return to the Summoning World if I cancel the summon, or what?"

"Pup." The wolf replied as he landed on another branch, then jumped again. "I told you before that demons are summons that can't or won't return to the Summoning World." Land. Jump. "If you cancel the summon right now, I'll return to your mindscape."

"But the seal's broken." Kakashi said questioningly. "How can you return to my mindscape?"

"Have you ever heard of demonic possession, pup?" He asked back. Moonlight danced in his vision, lighting the way forward.

"Only in books." Kakashi answered. It was an answer he was expecting.

"Right. Well, those books probably aren't detailed into the whole process of possession." Arashi explained. "A demonic possession happens when a demon forcibly makes a human his or her host. Normally, the demon takes control of the human's body. The human has absolutely no say in the matter."

"…I see." Kakashi said, and Arashi felt one of his arms shifting away. Probably to reach for his kunai holster.

"I'm not done yet, pup." The wolf said, batting said arm away from the holster with his tail without even glancing at his direction. He could sense that Kakashi was slowly hating his tail. He chuckled quietly at this, amused. "You see, sometimes, the sharing's mutual. A human may be willing to share their body with a demon, and the demon's also willing to give something in return."

"Like?" The Hatake questioned, his arm returning back to being around his neck. The masked teen was by no means relaxed yet.

"Chakra, for one." The demon answered, leaping and landing on another branch. "Sometimes companionship. Or special powers. Depends on the people, really." His inhumanly bright blue eyes glanced back at the teen on his back. "You don't actually need seals and stuff to create a host. Though I suppose if you want to _control _the demon instead of reaching cooperation then you would need it."

Kakashi was quiet for a long time. Arashi returned the silence for once, letting the only sound be the occasional animal and the wind in their ears. It was kind of nice, and Arashi could almost imagine the silence to be a companionable one. It's…nice, that sort of silence. Arashi had lived a long life, and he was accustomed to _lonely _silence. A silence shared with another, though said other person was distrustful, was much nicer than one spent alone.

Slowly, Arashi could sense the tenseness in Kakashi's form gave way. The teen on his back relaxed, though only a bit. Arashi hid a smile at that unconscious show of trust. It was only a little, and Kakashi still maintained his guard, but it was a start. The pup's not too far gone yet.

Eventually, the wolf could see a great gate in the distance, the road beneath them becoming larger and more travelled as they flew past. Ahead, he could spot four large heads overlooking the villages-the Hokage Monument. It felt almost strange to look at those heads. Back then there was only one head, Hashirama's. A wistful smile pulled Arashi's lips. It has been so long, hasn't it?

_Konoha…_

The wolf leapt off a branch and landed on the road. A little further ahead, the great gates stood, barring entrance to anyone without permission to enter. Looking at the village, even from a distance, Arashi couldn't help the chuckle that erupted from his maw. _Kami, it's been so long…_

"Arashi?" The voice broke him from his reverie. Arashi shook his head, dismissing the web of nostalgia that suddenly bloomed within him.

"It's nothing, pup." He said, grinning. "Just feeling a bit nostalgic."

The porcelain mask gave nothing away from Kakashi's expression, but Arashi could sense that he was curious. Well, his past was his own business and if the pup was a ninja _(a Hatake no less)_ then he should be able to figure it out on his own. Finally, Kakashi shrugged. "Come on. We don't have all night."

"Is that an order, whelp?" He chuckled, but walked anyway.

As they approached, two ninjas leapt down to greet them. Arashi watched with slight bemusement as he took in their appearances. They wore green flak jackets and hitai-ates with the Konoha symbol engraved on it. A uniform? For ninjas? When they were _supposed _to be unpredictable and blend in with civilians? _Well, _he thought, amused, _I wonder who thought of that? Hashirama? Tobirama?_

Probably Tobirama. Arashi knew the man had a little soft spot for sewing.

He let the pup do the talking, which was surprisingly none at all. All Kakashi did was pull himself up, showed his porcelain masked face and pulled up a similar hitai-ate he had tucked in a seal inside his sleeve. The two ninjas in front of them immediately stood in attention at that, bowing and quickly hollering to their companions on the gate to let them in.

Curious, Arashi asked through their bond. _"What just happened?"_

He felt the pup shrugged in their link. _"I showed them proof that I'm in ANBU."_

"_ANBU?" _Arashi questioned as he moved silently into the village. The two ninjas that greeted them disappeared, and when they had fully entered the village, the gate closed behind them.

"_Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai." _Kakashi answered, pointing to a tower ahead to the marvelling wolf demon. Arashi couldn't help but slowed his walk as he gazed at the inside of the village. So much had changed since he last been here…. Kakashi kicked him lightly, a rude sign saying he should speed up. Arashi huffed slightly, but jumped and took to the roofs.

"_Alright, pup, what's that?" _He questioned as he leapt from one building to another. He took his time though, taking in the view of the village at night. Though it was dark, the streets were lit by lampposts and moonlight, and through them Arashi could see various fox decorations. He made a note to ask about them later.

He felt more than heard Kakashi sighed. _"We're the village's shadows basically." _He explained. _"Handpicked by the Hokage, we are the elite of the elite. We take our orders directly from the Hokage and do it with the best of our skills." _Kakashi continued, his voice not proud, but matter-of-fact. He kicked Arashi slightly again to get him to move. Said wolf demon growled nonthreateningly at that. The teen pointedly ignored it. _"We do the village's dirty work. Missions that normal nins can't take, we do. Things that not even jounins could stomach, we see regularly. And no one is to know that we do what we do."_

"_Sounds kind of depressing, pup." _Arashi pointed out. _"The mask comes with the package too?"_

"_This?" _Kakashi touched his porcelain wolf mask. _"Yes. Our identities are kept secret until we die, go insane or leave ANBU. And nobody ever truly leaves ANBU."_

"_Nobody?" _Arashi intoned, sounding a little distressed. This sounded bad for the pup's mental health…_ "And die? Or go insane? Geez, pup, how sad."_

"_Well…" _Kakashi amended. _"'Leaving' is simply being put in the inactive roster…I guess you're right in saying it's a bit depressing…"_

"_Then why did you join?" _The wolf asked, the question itself innocent but they both knew that the answer would be anything but.

Kakashi looked away, staring at the face of the Yondaime Hokage. They're closer to the tower the pup had pointed out now. _"There's nothing left for me." _The teen murmured softly, a breeze of a thought so soft Arashi almost missed it. Then the pup's voice became surer, louder. "We're here. You can stop now."

Arashi looked ahead. They were in front of the tower now. The wolf glanced upwards. The shadows the tower casted over them was dark and deep, a symbolism he couldn't miss. He looked at Kakashi in concern as the teen silently stood up beside him, standing tall and confident. If only he could reconcile that image with the almost broken voice that belied his sadness during those fleeting glimpses where Arashi questioned him on his pack.

_There's nothing left for me_, he had said.

_Well,_ Arashi thought, determined, as he and the pup walked into the looming tower, _then it's my job to find that important something. I won't let you turn into me._

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-(X)-

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The meeting with the Hokage _(an old man Kakashi quietly explained through their bond as the Sandaime. Arashi had asked where the Yondaime was, but the pup had gone silent at that)_ was rather brief and curt. Kakashi had given the scrolls containing the bodies of the missing-nins _(to be further examined by Konoha's Torture and Intelligence Force, he explained when the wolf asked)_ and then detailed his encounter with his targets. Then he talked about the sealing and the Sandaime Hokage became more attentive.

"I see…" The Hokage said, wisps of smoke circling him like wreaths. Those aged eyes gazed at him. "So you're the demon that was trapped inside Kakashi."

"Name's Arashi, Sandaime-sama!" Said wolf demon grinned, bowing extravagantly. "The greatest wolf demon you'll ever meet!"

He heard Kakashi quietly scoffed at that. Still in his extravagant bow, Arashi's grin turned into a smirk as he slapped his tail against the back of Kakashi's head. As the ANBU glared at him, Arashi went out of his bow and sat on his haunches, looking perfectly innocent save for his smirk.

The Hokage raised his eyebrows at the display, faint amusement in his mighty aura. "How interesting. And Kakashi said that you once entered Konoha."

"I was a different man then." Arashi said gallantly, chuckling as he could practically sense Kakashi rolling his eyes. It was the truth…sort of. Some important parts may be missing…but neither needed to fully know his past anyway. "And it was a long time ago, around a century I would say. Anyone who would know me would most likely be dead."

"And I'm still trapped inside the pup. Technically." He continued, deciding to get that part over with as soon as possible.

"Explain." The Sandaime said, a hint of an order under that single word.

Well Arashi supposed he didn't get the position of Hokage for his looks. As best as he could, Arashi told the aged leader about demons and their origins, and then continuing it on explanations about demonic possessions. He told him that he wasn't seeking to control Kakashi, that all he wanted was to help him. When the Sandaime questioned him why he wanted to help him, all Arashi was willing to give away was that he has his own reasons and past.

"There are things in my past that I regret." He told them. "And I'm trying to make it up for that."

"I see…" The Hokage nodded, wizened eyes gazing at him. He didn't push on his past, and for that Arashi's respect for the aged leader rose. Instead, the Sandaime said. "Very well. You are allowed to stay in the village, provided that you do not go around telling everyone that you're a demon. That would cause too much panic, especially considering we're nearing that day…"

He trailed off, his gaze now locked on Kakashi. For his part, the masked teen stared down at the floor. Arashi wondered what they we're talking about. What day was coming to them?

Still, this tenseness wouldn't do. Arashi chuckled. "Alright. You humans are a superstitious lot. I'll just tell everyone that I'm the awesome summon that the pup somehow got."

He heard Kakashi scoffed. "More like one I'm unlucky to get."

"Oi, that hurt!" Arashi cried, faking being hurt, even as a grin formed on his muzzle and he pitched his voice higher. "What a rude whelp! Really, no sense of gratitude at all."

"I'll thank you when you stopped acting like a kid." The teen deadpanned.

Arashi pouted. "But I like acting like a kid~"

Kakashi stared dubiously at him. "I still can't believe you're a demon."

"Oi, I _am _a demon!" The wolf exclaimed, lashing his tail to wallop the pup on his head again. "An awesome demon that deserves respect from his summoner, not continued skepticism!"

"I think it's the other way around…" The pup muttered, a hand on his head to prevent another slap.

A chuckle from the Hokage reminded Arashi that they were not alone in the room. Looking back at him sheepishly, the wolf saw the amused look on the old leader's face.

"Go and take a rest, Kakashi, Arashi." The Sandaime chuckled, smiling benignly at them. "Both of you deserve it."

"Yes, Sandaime-sama." Kakashi bowed to their leader. Arashi took that as cue to bow too. Then the wolf heard through their bond. _"Turn small again or return to my mindscape. I'm going to shunshin us to my apartment."_

Arashi chose the first option. Turning back into puppy size, the now small wolf sat once more on the masked teen's head. In a burst of smoke, both of them disappeared, leaving an amused leader back inside the Hokage Tower.

.

-(X)-

.

The inside of Kakashi's apartment could be summed up in one word: pragmatic. There was nothing of excess, not much that would give away the fact that somebody lived there except for miscellaneous things such as canned food in the fridge, standard soap and shampoo, the filled bookshelf and so on and so forth. In fact, when Arashi saw the apartment, he pretty much said as much.

"Are you sure you live here, pup?" He asked doubtfully, glancing at the spartan furniture. There weren't much for comfort in the apartment.

Kakashi rolled his one opened eye. "I'm sure I know where I _live._" He said sarcastically.

"It's just…" Arashi started, struggling to find the words to describe what he saw. Since Kakashi was a ninja, he could understand that there were some things one could live without, even abstained from. But this…

The apartment was small, just enough for one adult _(teen)_ to live. It was only one floor, with a kitchen adjoined to the dining and living room. There was the regular bathroom and three bedrooms, one was used by Kakashi and the other two were supposed to be for guests, if the pup even entertained some.

Arashi peeked into some rooms, frowning at the lack of decorations and tell-tale signs of a person actually _living _in it. It was only when he reached Kakashi's bedroom did the wolf _finally _found some semblance of habitation.

The pup's room was neat, almost meticulously so. There was a plant on the windowsill, a bed on one side of the room and bookshelves in the other. An empty desk was pushed against one side. On the nightstand next to the bed, a framed photograph stood, the first one Arashi saw in the house. Curious, the wolf turned larger _(though still slightly smaller than usual)_ and looked at the photo.

In the photo, he saw four people. His late pack, Arashi guessed. In it was a smiling blond, looking quite similar to the fourth large head he saw on the Hokage Monument. _Must be the Yondaime Hokage, _Arashi thought, _no wonder the pup didn't want to talk about him. _Next there was a girl with brown hair and purple tattoos gently smiling at the camera. Next to her were two boys, a goggled dark-haired boy and a familiar white-haired Hatake.

Arashi took his fill of the photograph before he stepped back and turned to regard the white-haired teen behind him. He knew that Kakashi has been staring at him for a long time, waiting for him to talk. The wolf inclined his head to the photograph. "Your pack?"

"My team." He replied, nodding. He crossed the room, Arashi moving away to let him sit on the bed. Kakashi stared at the photograph for a bit, before he looked at him with hollow eyes and said. "They're dead."

"I'm sorry." He murmured softly, bright blue eyes downcast. Arashi _was _sorry. Nobody should live without a pack. It was hard and almost impossible most days, the wolf knew. He stepped closer to the broken teen _(because that was what Kakashi was: broken. Ninja or not, the pup was shattered and needed someone to help piece the remains of his life together) _and nuzzled him. "It'll get better. I know, pup."

There was a choking sound, a soft gasp. Kakashi bowed his head and shut his eyes tightly. He whispered harshly. "_How do you __**know**__?"_

"I lost a pack too." Arashi admitted softly, butting his head softly against the teen. He brought his tail around the other in a sort of hug. Kakashi didn't return the gesture, but that was alright. He didn't expect him to. "It'll hurt for a long time, pup, and sometimes, it'll even hurt after you think you've moved on. But it'll get better, I promise."

The pup was silent for a long time. Arashi was getting used to his silence. The wolf just hoped that what he said got through to him.

"Just don't give up on life." Arashi murmured as he pulled away, turning around to shut the lights off. "And don't stop looking for new pack members. Else you'll miss opportunities to form a new pack, something you'll regret for the rest of your life."

The wolf shut the light off, putting the room in darkness save for the moonlight that stole its way into the room. Kakashi was still sitting on his bed as far as the wolf knew. Arashi moved silently, laying himself on the floor of Kakashi's room. He curled his tail towards himself, tucking himself into an almost circle and prepared to fall asleep.

"Goodnight, pup." He muttered softly into the darkness as he closed his eyes.

_I hope your dreams won't be filled with nightmares._

.

-(X)-

.

The next day was October 8th, or at least, that's what the calendar said when Arashi glanced at it. On the bright, cheery morning of Konohagakure, the wolf could think of a million of things to do, all of them relatively safe and sane. He could go out and walked the streets for one, familiarizing himself with the long-forgotten village he used to be in. He could lay down in the sun and sleep all day. It was a perfect day after all, with not even a single scent of rain later. He could go to the village's bookstore and find himself crossword book to fill _(it has been such a long time since he last did that. One of the things he missed from civilization)_, though he would need to ask Kakashi for money to buy such a thing.

Instead, he was stuck inside the pup's apartment trying to talk said teen out of killing himself.

Oh, Kakashi wouldn't kill himself literally. Arashi found out, as they continued to argue on whether he should take another mission or not, that the pup has an aversion to suicide. Or at least suicide on _normal _terms. The white-haired teen wouldn't mind getting kill on his missions though.

"I'm _fine._" The pup said for the umpteenth time that morning, arms crossed over his chest with an irate expression on his masked face. "I'm physically fit for duty. There's no reason why I shouldn't take a mission."

"That's the thing, pup. You're _physically _fine." Arashi mocked back the words, determined not to lose this argument. "But what about mentally? Or emotionally? I'm no therapist, pup, but I can clearly see you're not _fine._"

"A shinobi must suppress his or her emotions." Kakashi quoted from the rulebook. Arashi almost laughed at that. Quoting the rules to _him._

Heh, it's been such a long time since he heard those rules.

"One of the shinobi rules, I know, I know." Arashi said, his tail waving back and forth. "I've been around for a long time, pup. I know those rules."

"Then why are you keeping me here?" Kakashi questioned with distaste.

"For your own good." The wolf answered. They were in Kakashi's dining room/kitchen, the teen seated in front of him while he sat on the table in puppy size. The teen leaned back on his chair, looking at him dubiously. The demon reined in the urge to sigh. "Look pup, you can say you're alright, but you're _not _and no amount of talking will convince me."

Kakashi glared at him. "Why are you _doing _this? Nobody asked you to take care of me. I'm _fine._"

"I'm doing this because clearly, you're _not alright._" Arashi snapped back. "I'm doing this because you're being a stupid pup who'll recklessly throw away his own life. _Eager _for it in fact! That's _not _what your pack would have wanted!"

"How would _you _know what _they _want?" Kakashi nearly shouted back angrily. "You don't know _them! _You don't know _me!_"

"True, pup." Arashi said, forcing himself to remain calm. The pup needed someone rational right now. "But I know that if I were them, I wouldn't want you to be like _this._"

That was a hard lesson Arashi had learnt. It took him _years, _decades even, and when he _did _learn it, all that mattered were gone. He didn't want the pup to learn such lesson too late. He didn't want him to regret like he does.

Kakashi took a deep breath, calming himself down. Arashi calmly waited for him to speak. Outside, the morning wore on.

"Then what would you have me do?" The white-haired teen asked, voice so soft he nearly missed it.

Arashi suppressed the grin that would come. Bad idea if the pup saw it and thought that this was all some kind of competition, the wolf thought. Instead, as calmly as he could, Arashi said seriously. "You can start living, for one, and stop with all this suicidal missions. We'll take things slow, and then figure out what to do next."

The ANBU looked away, a hint of a frown from the creases of his mask. "You still haven't answered my previous question. Why are you doing this?"

"My reasons are my own, pup." Arashi replied, now grinning. The pup was _finally _willing to see some sense _(further emphasis on 'some', but Arashi knew how to pick his battles. Miracles don't happen overnight)_. There's hope yet. "You're a ninja, aren't you? Figure it out."

The wolf jumped down from the table and regained its former large size. Standing on all four beside Kakashi now, Arashi prodded the teen's arm with his snout, grinning as the pup attempted to swat him in annoyance. The wolf dodged it of course, laughing all the way. He wrapped his tail around the extended hand and forcibly started to drag him, much to Kakashi's complaints.

"Come on!" He said, laughing. "I want to eat some _real _food! Not those canned junk you call breakfast!"

Ignoring the pup's protests, Arashi dragged him outside. The day was still young after all, and the wolf could think of a million of things better to do than staying inside an apartment.

.

-(X)-

.

There were many, many things Kakashi regretted.

He regretted not seeing his father for the hero he truly was for starters. He regretted not being able to save Obito, for piercing Rin's chest and for not being fast enough to stop Minato-sensei and Kushina-san from sacrificing themselves. Kakashi was a man _(teen-but, not really) _filled with regrets, and he knew though he would try not to, that he would have many more later on in life.

"Man, that okonomiyaki was _delicious!_" Arashi said loudly, practically _howling _his pleasure for everybody to hear.

Kakashi walked a little further away from the wolf, looking away. In a ninja village where even the civilians has grown to get used to the many strange antics of their protectors _(a whole clan with the mannerisms of dogs, living human-hives, lazy geniuses, prideful elites), _people _stared _at Arashi. The teen walked a little faster, feeling slightly embarrassed for having such summon.

_I don't know him. He's not with me. If I keep saying this maybe the rest would believe it too._

No such luck, as Arashi bounded right up next to him and cheerfully _(loudly) _proclaimed. "Oi, pup, we should head there tomorrow! Or maybe later! Come on, where else would we have lunch? Or dinner for that matter? I'm _not _going to eat those canned junk _again!_"

Kakashi gritted his teeth, withholding a groan. He was _so _regretting ever signing that contract with Arashi.

And from the look of the wolf's smug grin, the demon _knew _that he was riling him up and was _happy _to do so. _Bastard._

Why in the world did Arashi offered to help Kakashi in the first place? It was still a question that bothered him. In the few glimpses of seriousness he saw, the wolf had looked as if he was lamenting something. Or perhaps _someone. _He said that his pack was dead. Kakashi's 'pack' _(if he could call them that) _was dead too. Was that why the demon wanted to help him? Because of a sense of empathy?

It still didn't answer why Arashi _cared._

Pointedly ignoring the cheerful demon, Kakashi glanced away from the wolf and spotted the various fox decorations lining up the stalls of Konoha's market. That's right, it was October 8th. It was nearing the anniversary of their deaths. Kakashi frowned under his mask, stuffing his fists into his pockets and walked away.

Damn it, he wanted to be away on a mission on _that _day. He did _not _want to remember their deaths.

_(He remembered it far too much and far too long anyway. Obito's gift was a curse at times.)_

"Hey, pup." Arashi prodded, voice much more subdued than his earlier exuberance, more to a regular person's voice. It was tolerable, Kakashi supposed. "What's will all the fox décor? Is there going to be a festival or something?"

"You don't know?" He asked back, surprised. News of the Kyuubi's attack had spread to all the lands and major villages. How had Arashi _not_ known?

The wolf shrugged. "I've been asleep for a long time…"

"For _three years?_" Kakashi questioned dubiously, looking at him from the corner of his eye sceptically.

"It was a _deep _sleep!" Arashi defended, looking vaguely sheepish but not embarrassed at all. Shameless wolf.

"Right." He said, almost sarcastically. The wolf rolled his eyes and asked again. With a sigh, Kakashi explained. "It's preparation for the festival celebrating the Kyuubi's defeat. The festival is going to be held in two days."

Arashi blinked. "The _Kyuubi's _defeat? Really, pup?"

"Yes. _Really._" Kakashi confirmed, almost testily. His teacher had sacrificed his and his wife's lives for protecting the village. Arashi shouldn't have sounded so sceptical.

"Alright, pup." The wolf appeased, tail waving slowly behind him. Arashi tilted his head curiously. "Who defeated him?"

"The Kyuubi?" He asked, but knew that there was no other one the wolf was questioning about. When the wolf nodded, Kakashi swallowed inaudibly and pushed back memories, saying in a dull voice. "The Yondaime Hokage, but at the cost of his life. The festival is held in his and those who died fighting the Kyuubi honour."

It was the standard answer to that question. It made no mention of how _much _Minato-sensei and Kushina-san sacrificed for the village. They lost their lives, his teacher gave up his _afterlife _and most of all, they were forced to sacrifice their only child to a life filled with irrational hatred and fear. _Standard _answer. Kami, Kakashi _hated _that.

"I see." The wolf said, oblivious to Kakashi's sudden bout of dislike. Arashi nodded towards the Hokage Monument. "Your teacher was strong then."

Kakashi briefly thought on questioning how the demon knew the Fourth was his teacher, but dismissed it as it must be obvious when Arashi inspected the photograph of his team last night. The masked teen merely nodded. "Yeah, Minato-sensei was."

The rest of the day passed on rather easily, compared to their earlier morning. Kakashi was forced to admit that Arashi wasn't _that _annoying…most of the time at least. After his questions, the wolf was a bit more subdued, though he still remained largely excited in exploring the village. Most of the morning and noon was spent simply walking around, Arashi occasionally asking something and Kakashi explaining it.

At some point, they began to walk aimlessly. Sometimes, Arashi dragged him to examine something, or buy some snacks if he felt a bit hungry. The wolf made it a point to pull him into a restaurant at lunch, and Kakashi had to admit that a real meal was much more delicious than the canned goods he stored inside his fridge. As they ate lunch, Arashi somehow managed to get Kakashi to agree to shop for food later on, and maybe also some cookbooks as neither of them really know much on cooking.

Slowly, Kakashi started to relax. The morning started of badly, his company was questionable, but…so far, it had to be the best day Kakashi had ever since the deaths of the last people he cared about. It was…nice, to not be in constant danger or have to keep your guard up all day. It was refreshing to simply _relax._

And because of that, Kakashi mused, this must also be one of his weirdest days yet.

_(Kakashi doesn't __**do **__relaxing. He does sparring and training and killing. He only stopped for several people and that was also only for a handful of moments. After everyone was gone and dead and buried, he saw no reason to stop and did what he did best: sparring and training and killing.)_

_(This must be the first time in __**years **__he simply __**stopped**__.)_

Now they were heading to the Memorial Stone. Arashi had no clue where they were walking, but Kakashi does. He traversed these paths nearly every day, as much as he could in between one mission and the next. Here was where he lamented, where he regretted, where he remembered every mistake he made and feel every stab it caused in his heart because it was the one thing that kept him _human._

_(On some days, Kakashi desperately needed that assurance. On some days, he wished he didn't.)_

As they neared the grey monolith, Kakashi's paced slowed almost respectfully. Arashi matched his steps, though he glanced at him in confusion. Kakashi didn't answer his unspoken question, instead he crouched down in front of the stone and stared at the four names that listed his fallen comrades. _(And here he __**remembered.**__)_

_Uchiha Obito_

_(Crushed. Rocks. Couldn't lift it. If only he was stronger. If only he was faster. If only he __**listened-!**__)_

_Nohara Rin_

_(A promise to protect. Heh. Yeah right. He failed. Fucking __**failed**__. She used to smile so prettily. Near the end, he noticed her. He wondered what could have been. He could have loved her, maybe. When did her smiles turned to tears?)_

_Namikaze Minato_

_(Teacher. Mentor. But more than that. He was a father he needed during those times. He cared about him, though he was sure he disappointed him at times. A bright grin. The shadow of a fire fiercely protective. How could anything extinguish that fire?)_

_Namikaze Kushina_

_(Loud. Caring. A mother if Minato-sensei was the father. She forced him to move into their place when it was clear he was being self-destructive. Dragged him out of the training fields and into the hospital when he's hurt. She should have been a mother. She should have been alive to take care of Naruto. She shouldn't have __**died.**__)_

_(None of them should have died. Does his life have so little meaning that death could not take his instead?)_

"Pup." Arashi's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Pup. _Kakashi. __**Stop.**_"

Kakashi nearly snapped at him. What right does _he _has to stop him from mourning his friends?

The wolf demon glanced at the stone, then back at him, his white fur a stark contrast to the dark memorial. Arashi fixed his stare to him, worry and concern dancing in his inhuman blue eyes. _(What right does __**he **__have to care about __**him?**__)_

"This isn't mourning, pup." The wolf said softly as Kakashi glared at him. "It's self-pity and guilt. You're not letting them have their peace."

"You can't tell me what to do." Kakashi countered, voice equally soft but deadly. They're dancing on a knife's edge now, one or the other threatening to snap at the wrong word. Yet Kakashi said evenly. "I don't even know you."

Abruptly, Arashi wrenched his gaze away from him. The wolf's head turned away from him, so he couldn't see Arashi's disappointment and sadness. Kakashi stared at him, knowing that the wolf would have some words to say, and the demon didn't disappoint.

"You're correct. I have no right in this. But…" The wolf turned, his tail swishing behind him as he walked away. The wolf continued over his shoulder, inhumanly bright blue eyes piercing straight to his soul. "Take it from somebody who mourned too long and regretted too much. As hard as letting go is, _not _doing so is even harder. There are so many opportunities and people you'll miss because you're blinded by your own grief to see them."

And the wolf left, though Kakashi could sense that Arashi hadn't went too far. The demon merely waited outside the clearing and on the road. The masked teen looked back at the Memorial Stone. He remembered their deaths again, but somehow…the memories were a little less sharp, a bit more faded at the edges and at one time, Kakashi caught himself remembering some of the good times they had.

_(Deep down, Kakashi wondered if moving on from their deaths, from the stings of hurt that ached in his heart and reminded him he was alive, would make him a bit more human.)_

_(They would like that, he thought.)_

.

-(X)-

.

It was nearing evening now, the distant sun slowly making its descent across the heavens. Arashi tilted his head up, watching the play of colours across the sky. The ephemeral pink mingled with the hues of orange, dancing with the incoming shade of dark blue. The white clouds near the sunset became tainted with red, and Arashi couldn't help but think, despite witnessing this beauty of nature, that there was something strangely symbolic about it.

Well, whatever nature's trying to tell him, it doesn't really matter. Instead, Arashi glanced at the quiet white-haired teen walking next to him. The pup hadn't spoken a single word since they left that rock smelling of grief and tears, though not all of it belonged to the teen.

Arashi returned the silence respectfully. It was obvious that the pup has some deep issues with their deaths; the suicidal mission streak was a dead giveaway. Nobody in their right minds would take one mission right after another. Still, the wolf was no miracle worker and he could only do so much in one day. They just have to take this slowly, step by step and if necessary, Arashi was going to _drag _and _pull _him out of his angst.

Right now, as the sun set over the ninja village, the summon and summoner walked over the near empty streets. People were ushering their remaining children into their homes, closing their shops and stalls and bidding each other farewell and goodnight. If Arashi was willing to do it, he could even smell the scent of alcohol and cigarettes from some shady or over-lit clubs, the start of the adult nightlife. The wolf didn't want to, however, and instead focused on the road ahead.

He closed his eyes, ignoring the pensive pup beside him, and took in the evening breeze. The scent of _Konoha _permeated the air, making him feel nostalgic. Yes, things have changed over the years, there were more scent of smokes and metals than before, but overall, the smell of leaves and ashes and simply _life _inside the village hadn't changed at all. The wolf smiled wistfully, opening his eyes and exhaling. _The more things change, the more they stay the same._

But…there was something _off _with the air. Arashi stopped abruptly, sniffing the air. The pup stopped next to him too, looking at him quizzically. But Arashi merely sniffed the air again, a frown marring what was once a smile. Was that…_blood? _

A breeze told more to the story. Blood, he could smell blood from the shadowy alley to their right. And…was that _foxes?_

Kakashi still looked at him questioningly. When he realized that he wouldn't speak, Arashi explained. "I smell blood. And I think..." He tilted his head in confusion. "…Foxes? Does Konoha have foxes?"

_Shit._

Arashi blinked, surprised. _That _was certainly not him cursing. A second later he realized that the pup must have cursed aloud in his head. No wonder he thought he heard something then. The wolf turned to regard the teen, but said ninja had dashed into the alley before him, leaving Arashi behind. With a small huff of annoyance, the wolf quickly followed him.

As the sun was setting when Arashi first picked up the scent, it was already dark in the alley. The shadows didn't help his vision at all, and what little flickering lights there were weren't exactly helpful. In a way, Arashi was glad for such small blessings. He has his nose, and he _knew _that if he saw what happened it would be a thousand times worse.

Shadows casted darkness over the few forms in the alley, but Arashi thought that the lanky form pinning a grown man to the wall must be the pup. There were other figures as well, civilians he thought, judging from the regular clothes he saw them wear as he approached them.

At first, Arashi was confused. Why would the pup leak out such intense killing intent on _civilians_? He wouldn't kill them…right? He was certain that the Hatake Clan raised their children better than _that, _but things might have changed over the years…And why were there civilians in the first place?

His answer, however, was found when he peered past the forms of the adults and teen, and found a small child curled up against the wall. Arashi's jaw nearly dropped as the child's scent told him everything he needed to know. The blood obviously came from the child, as evidenced by the many wounds littering his small body. Dirt and grime stuck to him like a second skin _(Arashi winced at that. Doesn't that lead to infections?). _Under the layers of blood and dirt however, Arashi could smell foxes.

Blood. Dirt. The scent of foxes on a child. The wolf froze for a second, suddenly seeing a bleak picture painting itself before his eyes.

"_It's preparation for the festival celebrating the Kyuubi's defeat." _

"_The festival is going to be held in two days."_

"_The festival is held in his and those who died fighting the Kyuubi honour."_

_(And wasn't the Kyuubi a __**fox?**__)_

Back before Arashi became _Arashi, _before he lost his pack and everyone he cared about, many called him a genius and though years had passed he was as intelligent as he was before. The puzzle pieces slipped together easily, and Arashi growled at the picture it made, effectively drawing the civilians attention from the intimidating shinobi to the frightening wolf.

Arashi surged forward, ignoring the civilians' cries of distress, and stood in front of the child. He snarled lowly at the adults while the pup, who had let go of the man he pinned, looked at him with an impassive, but approving eye. Under the threat of a large wolf and a skilled shinobi, the civilians chose to run away, some complaining loudly that they would take the matter up to the Hokage.

Arashi didn't care. _No one _should hurt a child. _Especially _a _jinchuriki._

_(Are these people all idiots? They're going to create their own demons at this rate!)_

When the last civilian was gone, Kakashi crouched down next to the child, ignoring the intimidating wolf. Said wolf huffed disdainfully as the last adult left, and turned to watch the pup inspecting the child. Kakashi carefully picked up the child, ignoring the stains doing so would cause to his clothes.

"He's the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, isn't he?" Arashi asked softly.

Kakashi looked at him in faint shock, the only thing a ninja of his calibre would allow themselves to give away. "How did you know? It's an S-rank secret."

The wolf chuckled lowly, but the sound was hollow to both their ears. Arashi was obviously _not _amused by the child's mistreatment. "Pup, long time ago, people called me a genius. It's two days away from the festival of the Kyuubi's defeat. Many died fighting him. The kit there smells of foxes. He's covered in blood and dirt." He shook his head, peering at the kit in the pup's arms. "I can put two and two together, pup. The picture I'm seeing here isn't pretty."

"No, it's not." Kakashi grimly agreed. The masked teen looked down at the bloody kit. "Naruto's still alive, but he's unconscious and bleeding. I need to get him to the hospital."

"You mean _we _need to get him to the hospital." Arashi reminded him, turning into puppy size and hopping onto the pup's head. "I'm going with you of course."

"Fine…" Kakashi sighed, relenting as arguing with the wolf was obviously not as important as taking care of the kit. In a burst of smoke, the three of them were gone, disappearing into the night and shadows.

.

-(X)-

.

**I'm DOONEEE! :DDDD**

**Heh, I get happy every time I finished a new chapter.**

**I used Namikaze instead of Uzumaki as Kushina's last name as I figured that they're already married by the time Minato was made Hokage. So people would remember her as Namikaze and this is part of the reason why Naruto, who took the last name Uzumaki, wasn't suspected of being their child by most of the people in the village. Makes sense?**

**More on Arashi and his past. I already figured out a backstory for him, and it ain't pretty. On the other hand, it's what makes him, **_**him. **_**I'll elaborate his past much later. I'm probably going to end up making an Arashi Gaiden after a certain arc (hint: said arc takes place pre-Academy Graduation), which explains how he got to where he's now and the loss of his pack. Interested? **

**Let's see, besides that not much to say about this chapter. There's Arashi trying to get Kakashi out of his angst. Kakashi angst-ing anyway. And finally Naruto! Originally, I thought on putting more scenes with Naruto, but Arashi took most of this chapter up and I gotta postpone him till the next chapter. *pouts* Ah well, next chapter will feature more Naruto, Kakashi getting some unpleasant shock and Arashi milking this opportunity to push said ANBU into getting a life.**

**(Well, if things went according to plan at my end…sometimes my ideas and writings doesn't sync…)**

**Btw, does the explanation as to how Arashi figured out Naruto's secret makes sense?**

**Thank you for reading! ^ _ ^**

**The Storyteller of Dreams**

_**P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	3. Beasts of Konoha

**Title: **_**To Those of Wolves' Eyes**_

**Summary: **_**Kakashi should have known better than to take on strings of A to S –rank missions on his own. But he's tired, and perhaps he'll find that one mission that'll kill him today. Except, that's not what happens. Instead, an annoying wolf demon gets stuck in him, which somehow leads to him taking care of one hyperactive blond, adopt a certain pinkette and walks to the Uchiha district nearly everyday for their playdates with Mikoto's son. AU. A Kakashi adopts Team 7 fic.**_

**Genre: Adventure, Humour, Drama**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even male! Nor do I own Shonen Jump and Kishimoto's work.**

**This is obviously AU and may or may not follow the Stations of Canon.**

**Chapter Summary: **_**Arashi may act like an idiot, but he's no fool. Kakashi discovers some unpleasant truths about Konoha's jinchuriki condition and Naruto…maybe this time he won't be alone.**_

.

-(X)-

Chapter 3: Beasts of Konoha

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The walls of the hospital were a sterile white, the colour boring to Arashi's eyes. The two of them, wolf and pup, had just given the kit _(Naruto, Kakashi told him) _to a nurse. The wolf didn't trust the nurse, he could smell her fear and distaste of the kit, but she knew how to heal him and the pup had subtly threatened her to do her job properly. After that, the now nervous nurse nodded and hurried away from the frightening wolf and intimidating ninja.

So now they were forced to wait for news of Naruto's recovery. Well, actually Arashi was the one who forced Kakashi to wait with him. The pup had wanted to get away immediately, which made Arashi frown. Did the pup also hate the kit? But that didn't make sense. If Kakashi did hate Naruto, then he wouldn't have saved him.

There was a hint of apprehension and fear on the pup's scent, which was odd. Arashi doubted many things could ruffle the otherwise stoic ninja. So how did the wounded kit managed to do it? Interested, the wolf made a note to ask him later.

Right now, Arashi was back to his large size, sitting on his haunches, bored. Next to him, Kakashi sighed as he was forced to stay in the hospital and leaned against the wall. Minutes and seconds ticked by, making Arashi restless as he was forced to wait to hear about the kit.

Luckily, the pup managed to do something interesting to take a bit of the tedium out of their situation. When the hallway they were in was cleared and empty, Kakashi spoke to empty air. "Cat."

Suddenly, a ninja dressed in the same attire as the pup had last night dropped in front of them from what seemed to be thin air, kneeling before Kakashi. Arashi would have jumped in surprise if he hadn't sense these hidden protectors when they were walking through the village. Instead, the wolf perked his ears up, interested.

_Must be one of the pup's ANBU comrades._

"Who was assigned to protect Naruto today?" The pup questioned, voice hard. Arashi tilted his head as he glanced at the teen beside him. No, Kakashi couldn't have hated Naruto. He wouldn't have asked in that tone otherwise. "And why did they let the abuse go that far?"

"Mouse and Ox." The ANBU answered, still kneeling. "Rookies. Still haven't let go of that hate yet. They're suspended in HQ and awaiting punishment."

"Still haven't been properly hazed, hmm?" Kakashi said, thoughtful. "Let Tiger _warn_ them and then let them go. They're not off the hook yet though. Tell them to come to Training Ground 12 tomorrow out of uniform. I'll give them their punishment then."

"Tiger? Very well." Cat nodded. Somehow, Arashi got a sense of feral satisfaction from the two ANBU members in the room. This Tiger must be something. There was a pause, and Cat asked, voice sounding…amused and satisfied? "You're going to unleash Gai on them tomorrow, Captain?"

There was a hint of a smirk in the glint of the pup's dark eye. "I'm thinking of weaponizing his 'Springtime of Youth', and what better test subjects than errant ANBU members?"

"What better test subjects indeed." Cat echoed. Now Arashi was _certain _he heard amusement. Then the ANBU disappeared, leaving them as swiftly as he had appeared before.

The wolf blinked at the display, then shrugged and turned to look at the teen beside him. "What was that?"

Instead of answering him aloud, the pup explained through their bond. _"First, Naruto being the Kyuubi's jinchuriki is an S-rank secret." _He said, gazing at him. _"This means that telling the secret would be punishable by death. Understand?"_

Arashi nodded. _"Alright. I won't tell. So, what's going on?"_

Kakashi sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. _"Three years ago, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha." _He started. _"As you know, the Yondaime, my teacher, sacrificed his life to defeat it. Except he didn't defeat it completely. Instead, he sealed it inside Naruto."_

"_Minato-sensei hoped that the village would regard Naruto as a hero, which was why the information on him being a jinchuriki was known to even civilians." _Well, that explained the civilians' attack on the kit. _"Obviously, that didn't happen. When the third attempt on Naruto's life was foiled, Sandaime-sama made the rule and forced the entire village to secrecy. That didn't stop the villagers and some ninjas from hating and abusing Naruto however."_

"_So the Hokage set up the ANBU, his elites, to guard the kit." _Arashi concluded. Still, there were some things that seemed missing…_ "Why did the Kyuubi attacked Konoha? I don't know him, but as a demon I know I would prefer to stay away from humans. You guys can be rude and nasty."_

"_Yet here you are." _Kakashi said sardonically.

"_I have my own reasons to be here." _The wolf said, dismissing it with a wave of his tail. _"Still doesn't answer why the Kyuubi would bother to go __**here **__of all places. What's up with that?"_

"_I don't know." _The pup answered, shrugging helplessly.

Arashi eyed him doubtfully. The pup was the student of the Yondaime Hokage, who _coincidentally _knew some kind of seal powerful enough to seal the _Kyuubi _into a _child. _The pup knew _something, _he was certain. Maybe not everything that happened that day, but something regardless. Was the Kyuubi's attack truly random?

Arashi doubted so, but it wasn't his business to peer into the issue _(yet)._

_(Arashi was always too curious for his own good.)_

"_Hmm…" _The wolf hummed noncommittally. He would either figure out the secret in time or he wouldn't at all. It didn't matter anyway, he was here for the pup and nothing else. Knowing what happened in the past wouldn't help much in paving the way to the future.

_(But it __**does**__ matter. The truth however, would be too much to bear right now...for either of them.)_

_(Their pasts are, in a way, more connected than Arashi thought. But if they know what truly happened on those fateful days that changed them forever….No. Not yet. None of them are ready.)_

The two settled back into silence. Arashi sighed as he took to staring at the dull white walls again, bored out of his mind already. Luckily, the nurse arrived by then and told them that Uzumaki Naruto was making a complete recovery in Room 202. Happy at the news, Arashi was about to go visit the kit when he realized that the pup was heading the other way, towards the exit.

"Oh, _no way!_" He muttered under his breath, wrapping his tail around the pup's hand again. He grinned at Kakashi's glare. "Come on! It's just a quick visit to check on the kit! What's wrong with that?"

What ensued next was an argument between the summon and summoner, with Arashi pointedly ignoring most of Kakashi's protests and dragging him to Naruto's room anyway.

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-(X)-

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Kakashi didn't want to see Naruto.

No, it wasn't because he was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. Kakashi knew better than to assume the boy was a demon, or that the Kyuubi could take over Naruto. Such idea was preposterous to him.

First, the teen was in _ANBU, _the division of elite ninjas that regularly takes on the bogeymen of other ninjas _(which said a lot, as not much could frighten a shinobi). _He knew monsters in human flesh, had killed a fair share of them, and he was partially sure he was one of them too. Naruto, the innocent three years-old son of his beloved teacher and mother-figure, could _not possibly _be a demon.

Second, Minato-sensei and Kushina-san sacrificed their _lives _to seal the Kyuubi inside their only son. Such sacrifice couldn't be dismissed offhand. Kakashi wouldn't tarnish the memories of their great abilities by believing in the senseless lies of the villagers.

_(Though sometimes, he felt that it would be so much __**easier **__if he did.)_

So no, it wasn't because he was the Kyuubi's jinchuriki that Kakashi took great pains to avoid him like a plague _(except when he became Wolf-but that's another thing entirely)_. There was another, more personal reason…

Currently they were inside Room 202. The nurse had quickly excused herself after escorting them there, no doubt wanting to put some distance away from the jinchuriki, ninja and wolf. Kakashi nodded his thanks and leaned back against the door as he watched Arashi walked closer to the bed where Naruto laid sleeping.

The wolf looked relieved at seeing the boy in seemingly good health. Kakashi was secretly relieved too, glad that his teacher's son hadn't have any complications in recovery. The dirt and grime had been washed away and bandages covered a good portion of the boy's body. Good, at least no worries of infections there. Still, Kakashi frowned under his mask. The boy shouldn't be in such a state to begin with.

The look of relief on the wolf's face suddenly turned to one of shock, then morphed into a kind of sad understanding. He narrowed his eye at that. Did Arashi figured something out? For someone who acted so damn _obnoxious _most of the time, the wolf could be remarkably astute. He figured out an S-rank secret by scent alone after all. Then again, acting like a fool could be so _easy _at times.

"Pup…" The white beast murmured, voice still somewhat shocked and confused. He looked between Naruto and him with bright eyes that reflected his somber epiphany. "…He looks like your teacher."

Ah, so that was what Arashi figured out this time. Kakashi supposed that it was quite obvious as well. The wolf saw a picture of his teacher the night before, connected the dots between him and the Yondaime Hokage, and noticed the many similarities between the boy on the bed and the smiling blond on his photograph. Unlike most of the villagers, Arashi didn't seem to hate Naruto for being a jinchuriki, and so could see past being the Kyuubi's vessel and to the many similarities the boy shared with his father.

Yet it was still _another _S-rank secret that the wolf figured out. Kakashi sighed, resigning himself to explaining things.

"_Naruto's parents are another S-rank secret." _He said through their bond. He watched as the wolf snapped his tail in an exclamation mark, shocked, but the tail slowly returned back to swaying slowly as Arashi's expression morphed into curiosity and sadness. _"Minato-sensei was a great ninja feared by many, while Kushina-san was originally a foreigner who came to Konoha under…special circumstances. Sandaime-sama feared that if anyone knew Naruto was their child, he may be kidnapped or worse."_

"_Seems to me that 'worse' have already happened." _Arashi said, shaking his head. _"Didn't you said that people been trying to kill the kit since he was young-younger than now? It's…Geez, you humans can be so __**stupid.**__"_

Kakashi tilted his head. _"I guess you're right…what happened before…they could create their own demon."_

"_Poor kit." _Arashi sighed, looking sadly at Naruto. _"That's a lot of secrets for someone so young. And the kit knows nothing about this?"_

"_No." _The ANBU Captain answered.

The wolf's ears twitched, and Arashi frowned. _"Not even why he's hated? The kit knows absolutely nothing? That's…"_

Kakashi remained silent as the wolf trailed off. He watched as Arashi's blue eyes dimmed, looking down sadly at the Kyuubi's jinchuriki. The teen's heart also went out for the blond boy _(except he couldn't-no, no he __**couldn't. **__There are too many tears and holes in his heart that he couldn't spare a shred of space for the injured child trapped in a curse he couldn't control. It's just too much). _The white-haired teen looked away from the two, wishing that Arashi would speed up and end this so they could leave.

Kakashi didn't want to see Naruto.

"…_He's your teacher's son, right?" _The inquiry made Kakashi look back to the wolf, brow raised. The wolf continued. _"He's your teacher's son. Your teacher's part of your pack. So the kit's pack too."_

"He's pack."Arashi said aloud, firmly, resolutely, and Kakashi has a sinking feeling that he wouldn't like where this was going. "Naruto's part of your pack too. The kit needs someone. _You_need someone. Pack members take care of each other."

Oh _no, _he didn't like where this was going _at all. _"No. I'm _not_ taking care of Naruto."

Arashi pinned him down with a stare. "He's part of your pack. You're older than him. Take responsibility, pup! _He's your pack!_"

"No, no, _no._" Kakashi refused firmly, glaring at the demon. "I don't _care _about your pack mentality, but I _won't _take care of him!"

_I __**can't.**_

Kakashi expected the wolf to glare at him, retort back angrily at him. Instead, Arashi's eyes softened into understanding, and Kakashi wondered what gave him away this time. Damn, the demon was too sharp for his own good.

"Won't or _can't, _pup?" Arashi asked softly, making his way towards him. Kakashi returned his stare evenly, looking as relaxed as he was before, except the teen didn't really feel like it. Inside, Kakashi was waiting for the blows _(emotional or otherwise)_ to come. Arashi was much too good at this sort of thing.

_(The road to recovery was filled with thorns, and those who traversed reluctantly felt its barbs.)_

"There's a difference between the two, pup." The wolf continued, now sitting down on his haunches in front of Kakashi. Inhuman blue eyes pierced straight through his soul and Kakashi resisted the urge to fidget under such stare. He was a _ninja, _after all.

Arashi tilted his head when he didn't answer. "You try to avoid the kit, but you don't hate him. You avoid him for another reason." The wolf stated his observations calmly. "He's your teacher's son. Your teacher's part of your pack. _He's _part of your pack." His tail swished and landed in front of his paws. "No, you don't hate him at all. You're _afraid _of him. Afraid because he was your teacher's child."

Put it like that, it seemed so simple _(except it wasn't. Emotions are fickle things, and Kakashi was never the best at dealing with them)_. Kakashi closed his eyes, and sighed.

"_I can't take care of him." _He murmured through their bond. _"It's too much. He's too young and important and sensei and Kushina-san…I can't. I __**can't.**_**" **The teen stuffed his fists inside his pockets to hide the miniscule trembles in his hands. _"I'll mess things up. I always do. I can't, Arashi."_

"Maybe you can't_._" Arashi softly conceded aloud, but Kakashi doubted it was over that easily. "Maybe you _can_. But that doesn't matter, because you _will._"

"And why's that?"He huffed, looking straight into the wolf's eyes. The wolf looked back evenly.

"Because the kit needs you."Arashi replied simply. "He needs someone to be there for him. A jinchuriki can't live with hatred and fear alone. He's still human after all. Unless you want your teacher's son to turn into a monster, you _will have to_ step up."

That caused Kakashi to become silent. He's been doing that a lot lately, ever since he met Arashi. The wolf words were surprisingly wise and somber when he bothered to show an ounce of seriousness. Kakashi couldn't help but mull over his words silently, confused. _Should _he follow Arashi's words? Why did Arashi bothered to say anything anyway?

He didn't want to step up and take care of Naruto. He was barely taking care of _himself. _Kakashi didn't trust himself to be able care for his teacher's son, actually _frightened _by the possibility. He could kill and steal and fight easily, he was _good _at it. But to trust him with important things like _this. _No. He couldn't. He was a killer, a murderer, a _ninja. _He was not born to raise or care for another.

Living under the shadows of deaths and ghosts of the past, Kakashi could say that death was easy. It was living that's hard, and taking care of another life? That must be the hardest of all. _(But maybe-if only-perhaps he could…)_

_Damn it, Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, why did you have to die? I __**told **__you I'll be a bad babysitter!_

No, he _couldn't _handle such responsibility. He was barely handling his guilt over their deaths. Naruto needed someone who wasn't trapped in regrets and sadness. Someone who could see past the ghosts haunting him and hiding in the blond's features _(Naruto looks so much like Minato-sensei, acts too much like Kushina-san, his determination reminds him of Obito, his smiles of Rin). _No, Kakashi was _not_ the firstperson who should take care of Naruto.

So why was Arashi staring at him like he _was?_

_(What did he do to deserve __**that? **__How could a stranger trust him with the life of a child?)_

"Stop looking only at your own grief for a moment, pup."Arashi murmured, heedless of Kakashi's inner turmoil. He turned away from him and headed back to sit beside Naruto's bedside. He glanced at the boy, then back at the teen. "Just because you're caught up in darkness for too long doesn't mean you should forget about light."He prodded Naruto's unconscious form softly for a moment, eyes soft, and said simply. "The kit needs you."

"_This is your chance at something better. Are you so willing to turn it down just because you're afraid?"_

The question was a soft murmur in his conscious, a simple inquiry and challenge from Arashi through their bond. Kakashi watched the wolf as he turned to a smaller size, not quite a puppy though, and jumped on Naruto's bed to lay down beside the boy. The wolf curled around the blond almost protectively, head tilted in silent question as he stared at him. Kakashi thought back on their conversations, to his doubts and fears and reservations, and wondered, how did Arashi managed to manipulate him so well?

And why didn't he mind being manipulated?

He couldn't. He _shouldn't. _And yet, Arashi's words lit a small spark in him that Kakashi was surprised that it existed. He _wanted_, the teen realized. A part of him _wanted _that _something better (it was selfish of him however. They had given their lives for the village. The least he could do was do the same). _It surprised him, because for most of his life he dedicated himself to Konoha. He would be whatever she needs; a shield, a sword, a shadow. _(But wasn't this dedication born from want as well?)_

_(Didn't he want Minato-sensei, Kushina-san, Rin, Obito and even his father to be proud of him?)_

_(…Wouldn't they be happy if Naruto was taken care of properly?)_

Sighing, Kakashi pushed himself off the door and headed to Naruto's side. He pulled a chair and sat on it, crossing his arms over his chest and pointedly ignored the large grin that erupted on Arashi's muzzle.

Damn, for someone who acted like a fool, Arashi was _smart._

_(And Kakashi was too damn selfish for his own good.)_

.

-(X)-

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When Naruto woke up, it was to blue eyes too bright to come from a human.

Naturally, he shrieked and yelped, pulling away until he hit his head against the wall with a thud. "_Ouch!_" He cried out, grasping his head.

"My _ears…!_" The other creature with the bright eyes moaned in pain. Naruto opened one eye, shyly and nervously, and saw a ball of white fluff clutching its ears with its paws.

There was a short snort of laughter, which alerted Naruto to the other person in is room. _Bad! Bad! _He remembered the beatings the villagers gave him before, and if there were more _here…_well, it wasn't the first time the hospital staff turned a blind eye.

So the blond shot up in alarm, sitting up and shifting away to the furthest edge of the bed, away from the other person. He still hadn't looked at the person, eyes looking down at his clenched knuckles. No eye contact. They hate it when he looked at them. It made things _much _worse.

He glimpsed a hand reaching out to him and tensed. Nothing good ever came when someone's reaching out to him. Except when it comes to Sandaime-jiji and the Zoo people. They're nice, though the masked people were _always _so _silent (he tried pretty much every trick in the book to get them to speak, and usually, his attempts were met with failure. Except Wolf. He's nicer than the others)_. But he was in the hospital with a stranger, not Sandaime-jiji or the Zoo people. So it's bad. _Really, really, __**really bad!**_

_Where are they?!_

The hand stopped, as if hesitant, and then retreated. Naruto blinked, confused. _Huh? _He or she wasn't going to hit him or anything?

"How are you feeling?" The other guy _(Naruto was __**sure **__it was a guy. No girl he knew has a deep voice) _asked softly, almost hesitantly. As if he was afraid Naruto wouldn't answer _(since when does a stranger cared what __**he **__felt?)._

Taking a chance, Naruto peeked up and took in the other guy's appearance shyly. The guy was surprisingly younger than he thought, probably a little bit older than those ninjas that just graduated from the Academy. His hair was _weird, _being white when he looked young and defied gravity _(kinda cool, a part of Naruto admired)_. Most of his face was covered, a mask hiding the lower half of his face and a hitai-ate _(cool! He's a __**ninja!**__)_ was slanted over his left eye. The ninja looked calm, and he didn't seem to want to hurt him.

He's _weird, _Naruto decided.

"I-um…" Naruto looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed. Nobody ever cared what he felt except for Sandaime-jiji _(and Wolf, he thought, remembering when he asked if he hated him and the Zoo person said 'no'. The masked ninja probably didn't know how much that single word meant to him)_.

The blond stared back at his small hands, gripping the bed sheets tightly. If he didn't look at him, he could probably answer his question. "I-I'm fine!"

"Kind of doubt that, kit." Another voice piped up, deeper than the teen that asked before. Naruto sneaked a glance through his bangs at what he thought was a white fluff ball, surprised. _It could speak!?_

Suddenly, a pair of bright blue eyes appeared in his vision, a huge grin forming on a muzzle _(those teeth looked sharp!). _Naruto shrieked again, causing the creature to flatten his ears again, and nearly fell off the bed.

Luckily, a hand shot out and stopped Naruto from falling. Confused and surprised, Naruto looked at the one who stopped him, eyes wide as he stared at the ninja. The teen looked back calmly, pulling Naruto back onto the bed gently, much to the blond further shock.

_What's with this guy!?_

"Arashi, stop scaring him." The ninja scolded the white fluff ball, glaring at it slightly.

"Saa…I'm just greeting him, pup." The fluff ball sighed, shaking his head and patting his ears with his paws. Once the creature got rid of the ringing in his ears, he grinned up at the confused blond. "I'm Arashi! The greatest wolf summon you'll ever meet!"

Beside him, the ninja sighed, exasperated, but Naruto could only focus on the wolf's words. He was a summon? Like those animals super awesome ninjas called on? _Awesome! _Though the wolf still looked like a ball of fluff to his eyes, the blond's respect for the ninja beside him rose.

"Cool!" He exclaimed, before he realized he said that aloud_. Oh no_. Naruto tensed and looked back down on the sheets. They didn't like it when he spoke too loudly.

Unseen by him, the wolf frowned and shot a pointed look at the teen's way. Said teen shrugged, giving him a helpless look. The wolf rolled his eyes and pointed at the blond with his tail. The ninja gave him a look equivalent to _'What the hell do you want me to do?'_

The white fluff ball resisted the urge to slap himself _(and the pup too)._

Here was the following conversation that Naruto wasn't privy to:

"_Oi, pup, do something! I can't be the only source of comic relief in here!"_

"_Do what? And you, comic relief? You're making me laugh."_

"_Sarcasm noted, pup. At least I'm doing something. Do something!"_

"_Like what!? I don't know! What do you expect me to do to a three years-old?"_

Deadpanned. _"Well I don't know, __**comfort **__him?" _

"_And how do you do __**that?**__"_

"_What do you do when you're upset?"_

"_Train."_

"…_For a three years-old."_

"_That's what I do at his age."_

"…_Well, clearly you have some kind of messed up childhood."_

"_And what do __**you **__do when you're upset at that age?"_

"…_Train."_

Sardonically. _"Well, clearly you have some kind of messed up childhood."_

"_I do other things besides that!"_

"_Like?"_

"_Eating apricots, doing crosswords books, annoy the hell out of people-"_

"_Like you're doing to me."_

"_-and other stuff! Anyway, do something to cheer him up!"_

"_What? Give him some apricots and crosswords books?"_

"…_I don't think that Naruto would like that."_

"_I was being sarcastic."_

"_I know, pup. And you're being an idiot."_

"_Hey!"_

"_Well, if you want me to take it back, then __**talk **__to him. Just do that, pup."_

"_Clearly we're inept at handling the problems of a child."_

"_Couldn't have said it better myself, pup. Now do it!"_

With a quiet, disgruntled sigh, the ninja looked down at the nervous blond and said softly. "Forgive Arashi. He can be an idiot, but he means well."

Startled, Naruto looked up. _Eek! Shouldn't have done that! _But the ninja didn't seem like he wanted to hurt him. Instead, the white-haired teen looked sincere. Nervously, Naruto said. "I-it's ok! He's kinda cool!"

"Hear _that, _pup!" The summon, Arashi-san grinned, looking at his summoner smugly. "He called me cool!"

"Only because he doesn't know any other summons." The ninja said back coolly, but Naruto felt a hint of a jab there. Not at him _(which was strange), _but at the wolf. They must be friends, Naruto thought with a bit of longing _(it'll be nice to have some…)_. The ninja turned back to face him. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. What's your name?"

"Oh? Um…" Naruto peered up at the ninja. He didn't seem mean, and he didn't look like he would hurt him. Weird, yeah, but he seemed kinda nice. With a small nod to himself, Naruto regained his courage and grinned widely. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Konoha's greatest prankster _ever_ and future Hokage!"

The teen blinked, and Naruto watched a hint of amusement flashed through his expression. There was no hate however, or mocking that usually came whenever he spoke of his dreams. Naruto liked Hatake-san more and more already.

"Future Hokage, eh?" The one who spoke next however, wasn't the teen. Instead, the wolf that he had mistaken as a fluff ball looked at Naruto with a grin of his own. "How interesting. Why do you want to be Hokage, kit?"

Why? So that he could _finally _walk down a street without being glared at, without hearing mocking sneers and threats and being punched and kicked down in an alley. So that no one would _ever _ignore him, because _no one _ignored the Hokage, _no one _dismissed the Hokage offhand and _no one _would ever hate the Hokage. Naruto grinned _(though it was a lie) _and answered. "If I become Hokage, everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

_I'll finally be alive in their eyes._

"Acknowledgement?" The wolf mused, glancing at Hatake-san with an indecipherable look in his eyes. In return, the nin's expression was perfectly blank, cool and calm as he stared at Naruto _(and the blond couldn't help but wonder. What's up with that?)._

"I've heard many people wanting the title Hokage." The ninja said neutrally, without a hint of emotion giving away his true opinion. Naruto found it weird, maybe a bit creepy, but he _was _a ninja and the Zoo people were even stranger, so the blond could forgive this fault. The white-haired teen tilted his head curiously _(finally! Something to go on!). _"I never heard of acknowledgement as their reason though."

"Yeah, well!" The blond exclaimed, feeling a bit defensive. "When I become Hokage, no one's gonna ignore me anymore and they're gonna have to like me!"

"Hmm…" The ninja shrugged nonchalantly. Unseen by Naruto however, was the slight tenseness in his frame, the swiftest glance to the wolf and the unheard telepathy. _"…Those aren't good signs, right?"_

"_A boy being so ignored that he felt the only way to be acknowledge was to be the Hokage? Yeah, I don't think so." _Arashi thought back to Kakashi. The wolf shook his head slightly, glancing at the blond. _"Add that to his abuse and I say, pup, you're clearly missing out on some stuff."_

"…_I thought he would be taken care of by Sandaime-sama." _Kakashi defended. _"And if not, by the orphanage at least. Where are they anyway?"_

"_Like hell do I know, pup, I just came here yesterday." _The wolf replied. _"And considering the fact that the civilians half of the population and a few ninjas have a grudge to settle with the kit, I'll say the orphanage just turned a blind eye."_

"_Pup, you're here, living in the same village as him." _Arashi pointed out. _"Shouldn't you know something?"_

"_I…" _Kakashi started, before sighing in their bond and murmured softly. _"I don't know much on Naruto's life. I only stick to the shadows, revealing myself as Wolf when necessary. Besides that, I took plenty of missions that got me out of Konoha for days or weeks."_

"_So you know the kit was abused, but never this bad?" _

"…_No."_

"_Well…" _Arashi said gently, eyeing the teen. _"There's no time like the present. Now you see how much the kit needs you?"_

"_I don't know whether he needs __**me **__specifically." _Kakashi murmured, looking at Naruto. "Why did those people beat you up?"

The blond flinched as he remembered it. He knew who the ninja was referring to, and looked down at his clenched hands again. He was just heading back to his apartment, because he knew it was nearing his birthday and they hated it when he was out and about near that day. Those people caught him as he headed back, cornering him in the alley and then proceeded to beat him into a pulp, shouting how he should die because he was a demon and such.

He didn't do anything bad, but they hated him just the same.

When he didn't answer, he could hear Hatake-san sigh. Startled, the blond looked up, hoping he didn't somehow disappoint or anger the ninja _(because Hatake-san and Arashi-san were the first people outside of the Sandaime and the Zoo people that were friendly to him. He didn't want to lose them. He didn't want them to hate him too)_.

"Well, the nurse said that you're allowed to go home now." Hatake-san said, looking down at him. "Do you want us to accompany you back?"

Arashi-san nodded. "Yeah, it doesn't seem safe for you to go home alone. We'll take you back home safely."

Naruto blinked, surprised at the offer "Y-you want to help me!?"

"Of course we want to help you." Hatake-san said reasonably. "Why wouldn't we want to do so?"

"Because…" Naruto looked at the two of them, the strange wolf and ninja. They were _weird, _he knew, but they were also _nice. _It felt strange, to find someone caring about you, and Naruto hoped that this meant good things to come. At least…maybe, they could be friends?

_(That would be really, really nice. He never really had any friends.)_

"Well, kit?" The wolf asked, poking his side with his muzzle. Naruto giggled a bit. Arashi's fur was _soft!_

"I-ok!" The blond grinned up at the two of them. "Thanks, Hatake-san, Arashi-san!"

Arashi chuckled from beside him. "Just call me Arashi, kit." He then pointed at the white-haired teen with his snout. "And this one, Kakashi-nii. Though he's not as awesome or cool as me and have _several _issues we need to take care of. Don't worry though; I'm sure he won't bite!"

"_Arashi_…" Kakashi-nii grounded out, glaring at the wolf. Arashi merely laughed and Naruto couldn't help but laugh too. They were a really strange pair, but funny once he got to know them a bit. He liked them.

The day sucked at the beginning, but the blond thought with hope, maybe it would be better later. After all, Naruto met two people more people that didn't hate him. That _got _to count for something, right?

.

-(X)-

.

Naruto's home wasn't what Kakashi expected it to be.

For one, the blond boy lived all alone in an apartment. It wasn't even a nice apartment to begin with, though it got a good view of the Hokage Monument. Still, view or not, a kid shouldn't have to live here. In fact, why weren't they heading to the orphanage? Shouldn't a boy of Naruto's age and orphan status live _there _instead?

Granted, Kakashi didn't live in the Hatake Compound or the orphanage after his father died _(killed himself)_. Instead, Minato-sensei had pretty much adopted him, becoming his guardian and made him his ward. He lived with the blond up until Kushina-san became his teacher's girlfriend. By then, Kakashi had moved out to a new apartment, the place he called 'home' now _(except it wasn't, because home was where the heart was and his heart was gone along with them)_. The masked ninja couldn't take accidentally dropping in on them while they were making out with each other _again._

_(Then there was that one time they __**weren't **__making out. He was a bit traumatized by it, to be honest.)_

Still, as far as he knew, Naruto didn't have any legal guardian. He was living alone as far as Kakashi could tell when he entered the blond's messy apartment _(kami help him, the boy desperately needed to clean up his house)_. Which begs the question, why was the boy living alone?

"Naruto, where are your guardians?" He asked as he looked around. There wasn't much to the place, wooden walls, a bed, scattered ramen cups strewn all over the floor and other assorted objects.

The blond stopped from where he was walking towards the fridge. He looked at the teen in confusion. "Guardians? What's that?"

"The people who look out for you and care for you, Naruto." He explained.

"Oh, well…" The jinchuriki replied. "There's Sandaime-jiji, but he's really busy most of the time, and there's the Zoo people, but they're really quiet and shy."

"Zoo people?" Kakashi questioned, bemused.

The blond nodded as he took out several cups of instant ramen from the fridge. "Yup! They're these masked guys that usually saves me from beatings! They're really cool super powerful ninjas, at least that's what Sandaime-jiji said. I think they're mute though." He said as he boiled water, Kakashi looking at him amusedly as the ninja realized who the blond was talking about. "'Cause the Zoo people never speak _at all! _'Cept for Wolf, but that's rare too. Do you want ramen?"

"Ah, no thanks." The ANBU Captain declined, amused at how Naruto called the elite shinobis of Konoha _Zoo people. _He wondered how the rest of the ANBU would react to that if they knew.

The relatively sane ones would laugh. The hardened, broken ones would shrug and remain detached. Kakashi didn't know where he stood on that scale.

"So you live alone?" He asked, putting off the question on his sanity for later. If ever. He tried not to peer to deeply there.

Arashi had jumped down from his shoulders upon entering; inspecting the place with the same curiosity he had when he checked his apartment. The wolf frowned at what he saw and Kakashi could guess what he thought. A three years-old kid shouldn't live here alone. A three years-old kid shouldn't live alone to begin with.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded, sitting down on a chair. The teen followed suit, with the wolf hopping up onto the table. "Well, there's this ugly lady next door that likes to scream at me when she thinks I'm too loud. And there's the landlord that likes to come before I get money from Sandaime-jiji and beats me up when I can't pay him. And sometimes there are people that try to burn down or mess the place, especially on my birthday…"

As Kakashi continued to hear the numerous people living around Naruto's apartment, he frowned deeply. Yes, he knew that as a jinchuriki, Naruto would have a hard life. He would most likely struggle to gain some respect and liking, but he didn't expect _this. _He didn't knew that the abuse stretched this far, reached this deep. This was too much.

Kakashi was normally calm, cool and composed. Listening to the people's cruelty towards his teacher's son however, made the teen question his loyalty to Konoha for a second. If he killed one or two people, it wouldn't hurt, right? As long as nobody figured out he did it, it should be fine, right?

But he couldn't, because as much as he hated the villagers of Konoha right now, they were also the people his friends and family sacrificed their lives for. At the end, he would only diminish their sacrifices if he followed his current line of thoughts. Damn. And he really wanted to make them bleed right now.

Well, he supposed he could turn a blind eye towards some of Naruto's future pranks.

"People can get in here and hurt you?" Arashi gasped, drawing Kakashi out of his reverie. He almost forgot the wolf was there.

Naruto looked down nervously. "Umm, yeah."

"Pup…" Arashi frowned, and he could guess what the wolf wanted to ask this time. As much as Kakashi wanted to refuse him, the teen couldn't help but agree with the demon.

"Yeah, I know…" He sighed, absently wondering when did his life turned into this. Kakashi looked at the confused boy. "Naruto, why don't you stay with us for now?"

"E-eh? What?" The boy asked, shocked. "Why?"

"You said it yourself, kit." Arashi answered. "People can hurt you here. Didn't you say that people try to burn this place on your birthday? Well, if you stay with us, they wouldn't be able to reach you. You wouldn't be hurt."

"You can return here anytime you want." Kakashi assured the blond. "If you feel that you don't like staying with us, you can return back here. We wouldn't mind either way."

"_Except we would." _Arashi murmured through their bond. _"Because it'll be much harder to protect the kit if he's away."_

Kakashi didn't reply, though a part of him wondered how it got from simply taking care of Naruto to something that felt a bit _more_.

_(He wasn't good with kids. That was more of Minato-sensei's and Kushina-san's and Rin's and Obito's forte. But they're not here. He was, alongside an annoying wolf demon that insisted on making some changes in his life. Between the two of them, he wondered whether Naruto would survive to puberty.)_

"Well, Naruto?" He asked, looking down at the blond. "What do you think?"

"Umm…" Naruto said hesitantly, glancing between him and Arashi with something that looked like a mixture of surprise, confusion and…wonder? The blond took several long minutes to decide. When he finally made up his mind, the kettle had whistled and Naruto scrambled off his chair to get the water and placed it on the table. He didn't pour it to the opened cups of ramen though.

"Is it really ok?" The blond questioned, eyes wide. "I mean, I might cause trouble and people don't like me and they might don't like you guys because of me and-"

Kakashi rolled his visible eye and raised a hand to stop the kid. As the blond fell silent, the teen crinkled his eye up to express what he hoped was a reassuring smile _(Kakashi wasn't exactly good at those)_. "It's alright, Naruto. We wouldn't mind at all."

Naruto smiled widely at that, a grin so wide it split his face and narrowed his eyes. It was as blinding as the sun and felt like Minato-sensei and Kushina-san and Rin and Obito. Kakashi couldn't help but return it with a genuine one of his own. Maybe…maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad after all.

.

-(X)-

.

Naruto needed to pinch himself on the cheek to realize that, yes, this wasn't a dream.

Sunlight poured to the guest room he was staying in, a clean and tidy space unlike his own apartment. The blond was sitting up on the bed, rubbing away the remnants of sleep from his eyes. With a yawn, he stretched and swung his legs out of the bed.

He still couldn't believe that yesterday actually happened. Sure, he could believe the beatings the villagers gave out yesterday happened, though all the wounds had disappeared by now. What he couldn't believe was someone like Kakashi-nii and Arashi would willingly let him _(demon, they say, monster) _stay with them. And not just for a night either! _For as long as Naruto wanted!_

The blond grinned brightly. They were the _best!_

Happily, Naruto opened the door and peered outside. Kakashi-nii's apartment wasn't that big, but it had enough space for them at least. As he exited his room, the blond heard the tell-tale sounds of an argument, raised voices and angry sounds. Eyes wide, the blond hoped they weren't arguing because of him.

But as the blond entered the dining room/kitchen, he found the source of his hosts' argument was him, but a can that Kakashi-nii was holding.

"No way, pup." The wolf, much larger than he was yesterday, said. Naruto marvelled at his size _(he was so __**large! **__Maybe he could ride him!)_ as Arashi shook his head and sat on his haunches in front of the teen. "I'm not having _that _for breakfast!"

Kakashi-nii leaned against the fridge, arms crossed and holding up the can. Even though only his eye was visible, Naruto felt that Kakashi-nii must be frowning. "They're the only things inside the fridge."

"Ugh…we forgot to shop for _real _food didn't we?" Arashi lamented, sighing. "Well, I _still _don't want that for breakfast. Besides, I don't think that's what Naruto-chan needs." Suddenly, the focus shifted to him as the wolf glanced at him. "Right, Naruto-chan?"

On his part, Naruto wondered when did Arashi decided to use 'chan' on him and what exactly the can Kakashi-nii held contained. So the blond looked confused. "Umm…yes?"

The masked ninja sighed. "Arashi, no forcing Naruto to side with you." Kakashi-nii then looked at him. "And you don't have to say 'yes' to everything he says. What would you like for breakfast?"

"Ramen!" Naruto answered immediately, grinning.

Arashi smiled widely too. "So ramen it is!" He looked at Kakashi-nii. "It's better than that canned junk anyway. Do you know a good place to eat?"

The ninja put the can away and thought for a second. "Yeah, I know a place. Naruto, do you know Ichiraku?"

"No." He shook his head. A thought wormed its way into his head and Naruto worried his lip. "…Ah, is it really ok, Kakashi-nii? I mean, people don't like me…so is it ok for us to…"

"Ichiraku is a nice place." Kakashi-nii assured him. "I know the owner as well. He wouldn't hate you, Naruto."

"Ok then." If Kakashi-nii said so, then it should be fine, he thought.

"It's decided then!" Arashi cheered. "Ichiraku we go!"

.

-(X)-

.

Training Ground 12 was a place most Konoha-nins feared to tread. Oh, it wasn't because it contained giant snakes or man-eating plants like the Forest of Death. No, in fact the reason most feared to go there was because of one certain person.

"Yosh! How kind of my Eternal Rival to lend me some training companions!" Konoha's Green Beast exclaimed, grinning so widely that his teeth sparkled in the morning sun. If Ox and Mouse weren't in ANBU, both men would have hugged each other in fear.

But they were in ANBU, though they were out of uniforms, and they managed to piss off their superior on the first day _(Ox blamed Mouse for that), _and last night they just went through some terrifying experiments courtesy of Tiger _(Morino Ibiki was so proud that someone has been following his lessons)_, and _was that a pair of green spandex in his hands!?_

"Kakashi has told me that you wanted your youths fully expressed!" Cried Gai tearfully, in a manly way of course. Both rookies reluctantly accepted the offending clothes, looking as if they wanted to run away anytime soon. If only Wolf-taichou wouldn't track them down and force them into _more _torture…Another reason why it was a bad idea to anger an ANBU Captain.

"I'm so happy that there are some who understand the youthfulness of these clothes!" Their oblivious torturer exclaimed, _still _grinning blindingly as they put on the clothes. "To celebrate, let us run 100 laps around Konoha!"

_One hundred! _Both rookies shivered. This man was _crazy!_

"Now let us go, my youthful comrades!" Gai cheered, oblivious to their despair. "To the gates! We must not waste our Springtime of Youth!"

.

-(X)-

.

The streets were covered with festival décor. Ranging from some new game booths to open stalls and unlit lanterns hanging on lines, Kakashi could predict that this would be another festival Konoha went out of her way to enjoy. Of course, who wouldn't celebrate the anniversary of the fox's defeat? It was both a momentous occasion and sobering festivity, as not only do the villagers and ninjas of this great hidden village celebrate the defeat of what was thought an insurmountable foe, it was also the day of many loved ones deaths.

_Minato-sensei…Kushina-san…_

With a quiet sigh, Kakashi glanced at the small boy walking close to him. He could feel the many glares and stares that followed the boy, and no doubt Naruto felt it too, for he looked down and tried not to draw anyone's attention. It didn't work though. Today was a day away from the Fire Festival _(named so because nobody wanted to name it after the demon that ravaged the village, and wasn't Minato-sensei the __**fire **__shadow?)_ and of course tension would be high surrounding the jinchuriki and the villagers _(maybe even a few ninjas as well)_.

Arashi walked next to Naruto, still in his large size. He cut an imposing figure as a wolf, unlike how he acted yesterday. Kakashi was sure this was for Naruto's benefit though, to draw away some of the attention from the blond. It worked a bit, he supposed, watching as the blond boy shyly, unsurely reached out and clenched a fistful of white fur in the same manner of a frightened child would find reassurance from holding on to their guardians hands.

Kakashi felt a burst of surprise from their shared bond, along with a small surge of warmth. Naruto was growing on Arashi.

Then, to his surprise, Naruto reached out and grabbed his hand. Surprised, the ninja let him be, watching him with a hint of bemusement. Naruto still looked down, he still clung close to them and he was still trying to hide in plain sight from the villagers glares, but…the way the blond gripped his hand…it was similar to how he clenched the wolf's fur.

But…that would mean that he found Kakashi _reassuring. _Someone safe, a giver of comfort if he stretched it that far. It…was strange. Kakashi was a ninja first and foremost. He was danger, he was a weapon, he wasn't what someone would call safe or comforting. So it felt strange for him to have Naruto gripped his hand so trustingly, and yet it felt _nice._

Kakashi felt his cold heart warm a tiny bit.

So the teen clenched the tiny _(so fragile…a child…) _hand back, and when Naruto looked up in surprise, Kakashi curved his visible eye up to what he hope seemed to be a reassuring look. Sometimes, covering two third of your face made it difficult to convey facial expressions successfully. It seemed to work this time though, as Naruto returned it with a small smilethat still somehow seemed as bright as his huge grin _(Minato-sensei and Kushina-san were like that too. Even the smallest smiles can feel like stars)_.

Arashi looked at him with a hint of a smirk on his muzzle, a knowing glint in his eyes. Kakashi pointedly ignore him. The wolf messed with his life enough in the two short _(long, eventful) _days he knew him.

Since they had already dropped off at Ichiraku for breakfast _(Naruto promptly called it the best food __**ever! **__He practically begged Kakashi to let them eat there again for lunch…and dinner…and tomorrow's breakfast…and pretty much every day of every week)_ it left the ninja, wolf and boy with pretty much nothing to do for the rest of the day. Kakashi itched for some missions, because as much as he liked Naruto, he would still prefer to be away on October 10th. Arashi, however, firmly told him that he shouldn't, and then pointed out Naruto and how much the boy needed him _(Kakashi still doesn't fully believed him on that) _and the ninja was forced to relent on the subject.

It was nearing Naruto's birthday, and many people would be out for his blood soon.

As the trio meandered around the village, Kakashi spotted some stalls up ahead that sold fruits and vegetables. There was a quick thought from Arashi _"Don't forget to buy food! __**Real **__ones this time."_

Kakashi rolled his eyes, already heading to the stalls. _"I know, I know."_

The sellers were kind enough to him, though they frowned and asked some small, unsubtle questions on why the blond jinchuriki was with him. Kakashi shrugged and kindly told them that it wasn't their business and he would like some of those apples and oranges if you please?

They frowned, unsatisfied, but knew that the customer came first. So soon enough _(because the sellers, though kind with him and shrugged at Arashi –there were Inuzuka dogs bigger than his current form after all-, pointedly scowled at Naruto's presence) _Kakashi had a plastic bag filled with fruits on one hand, the other holding onto Naruto's hand, and was about to walk away and think on the next things he needed to buy when suddenly green burst into his vision.

Green. And one very sparkly, very shiny smile.

Kakashi inwardly groaned. _Gai…_

"My Eternal Rival, it is so rare to see you during this occasion!" The Green Beast of Konoha exclaimed. Naruto clenched his hand tighter, sticking closer to Kakashi to the point the blond was hiding behind his pants. Gai, oblivious to the ruckus he caused, gave a thumbs up. "I must thank you for the training companions! They were most youthful, though they could not keep up we some of our exercises! Perhaps I shall take them again to ignite their fire of youths?"

Though Gai was annoying at best, Kakashi had to stifle a grin at the mention of Gai's 'training companions'. Those rookies must have learned their lessons by now, or else the ANBU Captain was going to inflict the Springtime of Youth on them once more.

And really, no one sane would willingly go through such torture.

"No, I think they've had enough." Kakashi replied, because he wasn't cruel, not really, despite the rumours among ANBU that said the opposite _(his training wasn't __**that **__hard, the ANBU Captain thought. Really, jumping from one stone to the next on your hands in a deep river with fierce waves wasn't that bad. And the river was only a few kilometres long…)_. "But I'll tell you again if they want more training."

"Yosh, thank you, my eternal rival!" Gai exclaimed again, smiling that shiny smile and doing that 'good guy' pose again. "Now that you're here, I challenge you-!"

"Not interested." Kakashi quickly cut off before the other could give out another inane challenge. Really, they had done pretty much every challenge imaginable under the sun. From finding a mummy, climbing a tower, giving a monkey a shower, surfing tidal waves, locating a brain, discovering a lost bird…

"Ah, but this challenge-" This time, Gai cut himself off as he caught a glance at the boy hiding behind Kakashi. "Oh? Who is this, Kakashi?"

In return, Naruto gave a small 'eek!' of surprise, clutching Kakashi's hand tightly as he clenched the fabric of his pants behind him. Kakashi sighed and tugged the shy boy to view. He knew Gai. As eccentric and crazy the jounin was, he wouldn't react negatively to Naruto.

"Naruto, this is Maito Gai." He introduced the blond to his…colleague _(he didn't know what Gai was in his life, actually. A friend? But didn't he lose everyone three years ago? There was no way he has anybody left…though Gai seemed to know exactly when he needed a challenge to draw himself out of his depression. He wasn't always there, of course, as he couldn't since he was a ninja with missions to do too, but still…)_

_(Sometimes he wondered, maybe Gai was a friend he didn't know he had.)_

"Gai, this is Naruto." Kakashi finished the introductions. "Naruto will be staying with me for a while."

For a moment, Gai looked sharp, not that it really surprised the other teen. Kakashi knew that Gai, though definitely weird and crazy, was every bit a ninja as he was. One didn't become Hatake Kakashi's rival by being weak after all.

"I see." Then, Gai flashed a smile and the shinobi mind that knew and noticed secrets was swiftly and easily hidden behind a particularly shiny sparkle. Kakashi nodded inwardly in approval. The white-haired teen wouldn't say it, but it was nice to see that even though it had been a while since they last met, Gai was still as capable a shinobi as ever.

_(He didn't know whether Gai was truly important enough to label him as a 'friend', but he would certainly be missing him if he died in a mission. Gai was his rival however, and that meant they were somewhat equals. Kakashi certainly wouldn't need to worry about him.)_

"It is a very youthful thing to do, my Eternal Rival!" Gai exclaimed. Naruto had returned to hiding behind his pants. "To guard and raise the flowers of tomorrow, the future's Springtime of Youth-!"

"Er, Gai?" Kakashi interrupted once again. "Naruto, Arashi and I need to go now. We still have several things we need to buy."

"Very well, Kakashi!" The jounin nodded, much to the white-haired teen's relief. "But tomorrow, do you wish to train with me? There is a place that is good for training, though it is rather far from Konoha."

Kakashi quickly saw through his rather unsubtle words. Gai knew that he didn't enjoy being in Konoha around _that _day, so he invited him for training in somewhere far away from the village. It was rather nice of Gai to offer, though Kakashi couldn't accept it-

"Sure, he'll come." Arashi agreed before Kakashi could decline. "And Naruto-chan would come along too, if you don't mind?"

"Excellent!" Gai cheered before Kakashi could stop him. Konoha's Green Beast grinned and gave another thumb up, before speeding away to another intense, insane training session. "I shall wait for you tomorrow morning by the gates!"

"…No thanks." He said belatedly, staring at the trail of dust left behind by Gai's haste. He turned to the wolf, who looked so _annoyingly innocent _and glared at him, hissing out. "What was _that?"_

"That?" Arashi blinked, as if bemused by his question. His tail swayed playfully as the wolf grinned. "Oh, I just thought that Gai was kind enough to provide you and Naruto-chan an out for tomorrow. Considering _circumstances _and others, don't you think it's a good idea to accept?"

Kakashi frowned under his mask. "You don't know Gai. He's…" The ninja tried to wrap up what Gai was in a few words. Green spandex, flashy smile, insane never-ending challenges, _that green spandex_... "Insane." The teen decided succinctly.

Arashi looked at him as if he was a hypocrite. "And you aren't, pup?"

Kakashi was forced to concede that was true.

"Umm…is the weird monster gone?" Naruto asked shyly, peeking out from behind Kakashi.

"That was Gai. He's a ninja, like me." Kakashi said, nodding. "And yes, he's gone."

"Oh." The blond said, walking out from the teen's shadow, though Naruto still has a firm grip on Kakashi's hand. "He's _weird._"

"Yes." The white-haired teen said dryly. He sighed as the three began to walk again. Tomorrow was going to be a hectic day.

.

-(X)-

.

**Poor Kakashi! He's gonna have to spend a day with Gai! ^ _ ^**

**Speaking of Gai, writing him so difficult. I don't know whether I got his speech on youth and all right…**

**Thank you for reading! Please review!**

**The Storyteller of Dreams**

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**-(X)-**

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**Guest Review:**

**Veloren: **_** Hahaha, yup there's a Legend of Aang and Spirited Away reference. Manic pixie girl/wolf, Arashi? Lol. You know TV Tropes? Thanks for reading and reviewing! **_


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